Marcion was a bishop and wealthy shipowner of Sinope, the chief port of Pontus, on the southern shore of the Black Sea; he was also the son of a bishop, Philologus of Sinope, one of the Seventy Disciples. It has been estimated that Marcion was born about 70 C.E. and began his ministry in Anatolia as a disciple of the Apostle John around 98 C.E. The Catholic Church Father Polycarp commented on Marcion’s ministry as early as 115 C.E. He died sometime at the end of 154 C.E. as a martyr in the Colosseum. He lived to be about 85 years old.

His achievements include creating the first piece of Christian apologetic literature. composing the first Christian hymnbook, and the first translation of Christian scriptures into Latin. But most famously, Marcion is responsible for compiling the first Christian bible, which contained the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the revelation the Apostle Paul received, and the original ten epistles. To achieve this, Marcion and his fleet retraced the routes of the Apostle Paul’s journeys throughout the Roman Empire. Marcion revisited all the Pre-Nicene churches Paul established, collecting Paul’s original Greek writings and letters, which he transcribed and put into a codex or book format for the first time.

Shortly after gathering the Apostle Paul’s epistles and Gospel, Marcion compared our Christian God as revealed to us only through Jesus Christ with the barbaric carnal deity Yahweh portrayed in the Hebrew Bible. He concluded that these were not the same God and wrote a book detailing his comparisons and conclusions titled, ‘Antithesis.’ The book and its findings led to a schism among the early church leaders in which the two sides branded the other as heretics.

Sometime in the late 130s C.E., Marcion traveled to Rome, joined the Roman church, and made a large donation of 200,000 sesterces to the congregation there. Conflicts with the Church of Rome arose, and he was eventually denounced as a heretic and excommunicated on July 15, 144 C.E., his donation being returned to him. After his excommunication, he returned to Anatolia, where he continued to lead his many church congregations.

The Marcionite Christians are among the earliest Christian groups. Not only are the Marcionites credited with the first Christian Bible, the first Christian hymnbook, and the first Christian apologia, but also the oldest inscription of Jesus’ name in recorded history was found carved into the doorway of a Marcionite church in Syria.

Paul of Lebaba, a Marcionite presbyter, erected a church in the Syrian village of Lebaba on October 1st, 318 C.E. The inscription within the church is the oldest known surviving inscribed reference to Jesus. The full inscription is below:

“The meeting-house of the Marcionites, in the village of Lebaba, of the Lord and Saviour Jesus the Good – Erected by the forethought of Paul a presbyter, in the year 630 Seleucid era.”

This inscription was discovered by French archaeologists in 1870.

The Marcionite Christians were one of the largest and most widespread Christian sects, until the fourth century. In the fourth century, the Catholics gained political influence, and the Catholic Roman emperors began persecuting and exterminating all other faiths, including the Marcionite Christians. Marcionite Christians continued to flourish outside of the Roman Empire until the tenth century, with many of the faithful being found in Syria and northeastern Persia during the latter stages of its existence.

The Marcionite Christians believed that only Paul the Apostle had fully understood Jesus’ message, and they considered only his writings to be scripture.

Focusing on the Pauline traditions of the Gospel, Marcion felt that all other conceptions of the Gospel, and especially any association with the Hebrew Bible, was opposed to, and a backsliding from, the truth. He further regarded the arguments of Paul regarding law and gospel, wrath, and grace, works and faith, flesh and spirit, sin and righteousness, death and life, as the essence of religious truth.

After his evangelization throughout the Roman Empire in the 2nd Century, there began to surface several energetic responses to Marcion that indirectly may be attributed to his early work and mission. These include the expansion of the New Testament canon, Apostolic Tradition, the Rule of Faith, and Apostolic Succession, which were all introduced to undermine Marcion’s insistence on Prima Scriptura.

The concept of Apostolic Succession made it possible for the authority and prerogatives of the Catholic leadership to issue directives and assign the label “authentic” or “spurious” to Christian writings vying for canonical status. Many gospels, forgeries, and interpolated copies began to appear. Church leaders arbitrarily set up standards for accepting a writing as authentic and authoritative. The criteria included a claim to have been written by an apostle, a claim to have been written by someone who knew an apostle, and a writing that had to reflect the beliefs of a broad part of the Catholic Church. Another word for this is Apostolic Tradition, or falsely ascribing and attributing Catholic practices to the Apostles.

Since many of the newly authored writings had no basis for apostolic authorship claims, the church looked for and created stories on the thinnest of rationale to claim apostolicity for the various expanded canon. This is a place where protestant adherents to the Sola Scriptura principle need to take a breath and realize that many of the New Testament books which were finally declared canonical are there only on account of supposed Apostolic Tradition. As Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, “Protestants, in denying the authority of tradition, have cut off the branch on which they sit.”

After Marcion commenced his evangelistic crusade, a significant portion of Christian literature became devoted to apologetics or polemical defenses of orthodoxy; forgeries of Christian semi-scriptures mushroomed, and some of these pseudepigrapha were composed to counteract some aspect of Marcion’s theology, these included the interpolated Pastoral Epistles of the second century, apparently edited and expanded in opposition to the Marcionite Christian faith as they began to contain explicit anti-Marcionite Christian theology;  and the Apostles’ Creed, which is generally recognized as a forgery. The Creeds of the church were not just statements of faith. They became necessary in reaction to alternate and competing beliefs. Some scholars, such as Arthur C. McGiffert, recognize it as composed specially to temper Marcion’s theism.

Scholar Adolf von Harnack also represented Marcion as the indirect creator of the Catholic Church. This characterization mainly refers to the Roman Church’s response to Marcion’s evangelism. The rapid growth of Marcionite churches across the Roman Empire in the first two decades of the 2nd Century motivated the presbytery of the Roman congregation to form a more comprehensive hierarchy and outreach.

Since Marcion was the first to have a clearly defined list of canonical books, this posed a challenge and incentive to the emerging Catholic Church; if they wished to deny that Marcion’s list was the true one, it was incumbent on them to define what the true one was. The expansion phase of the New Testament canon thus began in response to Marcion’s proposed limited canon.

Most of what we know about Marcion and his work comes from a record written by his enemies. It’s interesting to note that all of the writers who attacked Marcion did so only after his death when he was unable to respond to or refute their malign assertions. One such enemy was an early Catholic Church Father named Tertullian, who claimed that Marcion redacted his Evangelicon narrative from the Gospel of Luke, cutting out everything that he didn’t believe in. Scholars have since confirmed the Marcionite Priority which confirms the Gospel of Luke rather was redacted from the Evangelicon, adding to it Catholic dogma.

It is believed by some that the Evangelicon was edited and added to by Theolophus, the bishop of Antioch, in about 169 C.E. He doubled its size by adding other information that he thought essential for a Gospel, and then named it the Gospel of Luke.

Further, there is no documentary evidence of any pre-Marcionite Pauline Epistles or a pre-Marcionite Gospel of Luke. Marcion’s canon had to have been the text used in Rome prior to 144 C.E. Therefore, the manuscript Marcion used was older than the oldest extant manuscript of Paul’s writings from 200 C.E. found in Egypt. The Pauline Epistles were officially considered to be scripture by the Pauline and later Marcionite Church long before the Catholic Church officially accepted their later edited versions.

In addition, it would have been considerably easier to make changes from Marcion’s versions to the longer versions of the Catholic Church. The complexity of redacting the longer version into the shorter version would have made it nearly impossible for many of the textual differences to come about.

The seeds of controversy were sown very early in Christiantiy. When the Apostle Paul was converted to Christianity, he completely gave up Judaism. The Apostle Paul believed he was motivated by the indwelling Spirit of Christ and had received his gospel by revelation from the risen Jesus, who was the savior of mankind, whether they were Jews or Gentiles.

In the first and 2^nd Centuries, there was a great conflict between Paul and Peter, and between the disciples of Paul and the disciples of Peter. The Christians on the side of Paul believed that the Christian faith was for all people, not just for Jews. The Christians on the side of Peter said that to convert to the Christian faith, you must be circumcised because they considered Christianity to be a sect of Judaism. To those Petrine Christians, any uncircumcised bishop would be considered a false bishop; in fact, he would even be considered a false Christian. To early Petrine Christians and even more radical groups such as the ‘Ebionites’, you had to be circumcised to be a Christian and a member of the Jewish priesthood to be a bishop.

Early canon law in the Catholic Church, which is said to be based on early traditions passed down from the apostles, says that it is absolutely forbidden to have more than one bishop in one city. And yet, in the city of Antioch, there is a record that indicates that there were two ‘first’ bishops in that city at the same time. One was Bishop Euodius, who was ordained by Paul, and the other was Bishop Ignatius, who was ordained by Peter.

This Paul vs. Peter division is also hinted at in the city of Rome itself. Early authorities indicate that the first bishop of Rome was Linus and that he was ordained by Paul, not Peter. Cletus (or Anacletus), the second bishop of Rome, was likewise ordained by Paul. Clement, ordained by Peter, is listed third or fourth in many lists made of bishops of Rome, but early authorities have him as first, as though there were no true bishops in Rome until one came from Peter. Jerome said, “Clement . . . the fourth bishop of Rome after Peter, if indeed the second was Linus and the third Anacletus, although most of the Latins think that Clement was second after the apostle [Peter]”.

The fact is, there were two jurisdictions of bishops in Rome, one of Paul and one of Peter, at the same time, just as was most likely the case in Antioch. This would provide an answer also to why it seems impossible to set dates for the reign of the first bishops of Rome.

Marcion lived long enough to see what Rome was like when it was administered by elders under Paul. He also saw what he thought were various innovations and corruptions that started to creep into the Roman Church after the elders under Peter began to rule. Marcion was perhaps the first church reformer. He wanted to see the church return to the pure Christian form it had when it was Pauline.

Tertullian claimed that Marcion started his own church. Tertullian recorded that the Marcionite Christians had a large, widespread, well-organized, and independent network of Churches and clergy before the end of the 2nd Century. Tertullian said, “Marcion’s heretical tradition has filled the entire world.” Tertullian even went so far as to attack Paul the Apostle, calling him “The Apostle of heretics.” It is hard to imagine that the Marcionite Church would have grown so fast if it only started in 144 C.E. when the Petrine bishops and presbyters in Rome excommunicated Marcion. It was likely that the Marcionite Church was larger than the Catholic Church at one point, and it is said that it continued to grow rapidly even after the death of Marcion.

Historically, the Catholic Church would label members of certain Christian churches by the names of their founders, either actual or purported. Such supposed founders were referred to as heresiarchs. This was done even when such a church viewed itself as belonging to the one true church, such as the Marcionites. This allowed the Catholic Church to say that the other church was founded by some heretical founder, while only the Catholic Church was truly founded by Christ.

It can be concluded that it is far more likely that the date for the beginning of the Marcionite Church is what must be wrong rather than the claim that this church grew at such an unrealistic pace.

The answer is that this Marcionite Church was exactly what it claimed to be: a ‘Pauline’ Church founded by the Apostle Paul. Further, we can assume that the Pauline bishops and presbyters in Rome would not have been involved in the excommunication of Marcion.

Paulinism became so pervasive that it was easier to absorb Paul, interpolate, redefine, and write in his name than to reject him outright. The result is the Judeo-Christian religion, which became Christianity as we know it. Paulinism became mixed with Judaizing Petrine Christianity to form a syncretic amalgam, a synthesis of the absorption of two different streams, resulting in the creation of the Catholic Church.

Ultimately, it is unknown whether Marcion completely innovated his own Christian viewpoints or was partially carrying on an early Christian tradition inherited from earlier teachers, such as his own teacher, the Apostle John. Marcion’s own father, Philologus of Sinope, was one of the Seventy Disciples of Jesus Christ and was himself a bishop, consecrated by the Apostle Andrew. Philologus was also a follower of the Apostle Paul in Rome. In any event, the emergence of Marcion into the historical record is our first glimpse of Pauline Christianity, the Pauline epistles, and the singular Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He considered the Apostle Paul to be the only authoritative teacher of the gospel. He, along with the Apostle Paul, cursed alternate or competing gospels.

Yes. The Catholic Church, founded by followers of the Apostle Peter, and the Marcionite Church, founded by followers of the Apostle Paul, were in competition with each other. Although you may find Epistles of Paul in the common Bible today, there was a time when the churches established by Peter did not accept them, nor did they accept Paul as a true apostle. As many Catholics began to accept the Epistles of Paul, Catholic redactors made copies of the Pauline letters, adding interpolations that made Paul appear more like a Catholic, a team player under the leadership of Peter. After the death of Marcion, all the original letters of Paul were destroyed, so that the Catholic redacted versions could make the claim to be the original.

The ‘Acts of the Apostles’ was likewise written to make Paul into a ‘Catholic’ missionary, rather than the first and greatest Apostle after Jesus. It is clear the author of the Gospel of Luke is the same author of Acts. Further, there is no outside record that anything recorded in the Acts of the Apostles ever happened, a conclusion reached among many scholars. One such scholar, Hermann Detering, said, “The great majority of historical statements made in Acts about the life and person of the apostle Paul are legendary in character and thus are to be enjoyed only with great caution”. This is so because the ‘Catholic’ Paul never existed. Instead of rejecting Paul altogether, as was attempted at first, the Catholic Church accepted a ‘Catholic’ version of Paul and then tried to make Marcion the fall guy, labeling him the ‘heretic’, though he taught exactly as Paul.

It was the early Catholic Church that started the false claim that Marcion had started his own Church rather than simply continuing in the tradition of the Apostle Paul’s Church.

Paul was even depicted as best friends with Peter on the icons in the church.

This was done so that the Catholic Church could gain the advantage over the Marcionite Church and eventually overcome it.

No. The Roman Catholic Church didn’t formally exist, at least not in its current form, until hundreds of years after the Marcionite Christians formed their own Church. Also, many critics of Marcion, like Tertullian, were hired to smear the Marcionite Christians, but what does Jerome tell us about Tertullian?

“As to Tertullian, I have nothing else to say except that he was not a man of the church.”

We entirely agree with our Catholic brothers on this point.

Further, most of the heretical accusations against Marcionite Christians are misplaced. We are not dualists; we are not docetists; we do not prohibit marriage; we do not mandate celibacy; we do not prohibit the drinking of wine or eating of meat.

These beliefs are actually those of the gnostic and ascetic Cerdo, a contemporary of Marcion. Cerdo and his sect, known as the Cerdonians, were excommunicated by the Roman Church around 138 C.E. Most of the charges leveled against them would be erroneously applied to Marcionite Christians some six years later during the excommunication of Marcion in 144 C.E. Tertullian and other critics of Marcion purposefully conflated these two groups in his writings and portrayed Cerdo as a precursor or teacher of Marcion rather than simply just a contemporary. Tertullian and other Marcionite critics did this to strengthen their arguments against the Marcionite Christians and to make the Marcionite Church less appealing to potential converts.

However, it is worth pointing out that Cerdo and the Cerdonians appear to have used the Testamentum or a version of it as their canon. Cerdo also rejected the Hebrew Bible and did not view Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. This shows that many early Christian groups, not just the Marcionite Christians, rejected the Hebrew scriptures.

The Roman church under Bishop Pius I excommunicated both Cerdo and Marcion for their supposed interpretations of scripture, not for using the scripture itself, which was most likely the same scripture used by the Roman Church at that time.

Following Marcion’s trial of excommunication, he is said to have exclaimed to the assembled Roman presbyters and bishops the following:

“I will divide your Church and cause within her a division, which will last forever.”

Eusebius describes that of all the early Christian sects, the Marcionite Christians had the greatest multitude of martyrs.

He names two in particular. First, Metrodorus, the bishop of Smyrna. Metrodorus was an early Christian martyr who was burned alive along with Polycarp in 156 C.E. during the persecutions of Christians during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Second was Asclepius, the bishop of Eleutheropolis, who, during the Diocletianic Persecution, was also burned alive at Caesarea on the same pyre as Peter Apselamus on January 10, 310 C.E.

In addition, Eusebius also refers to an unnamed Marcionite woman, potentially a deaconess, who was martyred in the arena of Caesarea around 257 C.E. during Emperor Valerian’s reign.

The disciples of Marcion of Sinope that we know of include Apelles of Alexandria, Lucanus (Or Lucianus) of Rome, Syneros, Potitus, and Basilicus.

The primary source for the names of these disciples is Rhodo.

Apelles was the greatest and most famous of Marcion’s disciples and was his successor in many respects.

It appears that Lucanus was the leader of the Marcionite Christians in Rome after Marcion’s death. Lucanus taught a doctrine regarding the transmigration of souls, which is a form of reincarnation. In addition, it appears that Lucanus upheld the beliefs of docetism in contrast to the Apelles’ school. He denied the reality of the body of Christ, as well as the immateriality and immortality of the soul. Lucanus’ school seems to have gone extinct toward the end of the third century.

Both Potitus and Basilicus seemed to ascribe to the belief of Binitarianism, which may have also been the view of Marcion of Sinope.

Although the different disciples of Marcion held somewhat various theological beliefs, which gave rise to different schools, according to Rhodo, they did not split up into opposing sects but remained one united church and retained the one general name of Marcionite Christians. It is by this general name alone that they are always referred to by the patristic sources. The fact that they could hold some variant theological beliefs without splitting up into sects shows that doctrines were but a side issue with them and that the religious spirit and the biblical canon were the matters upon which they laid the chief emphasis. This shows a fundamental difference between Marcionite Christians and the various competing Gnostic sects.

Marcion of Sinope mentions several Marcionite deacons, presbyters, and bishops who accompanied him during his captivity. These individuals are mentioned in his epistles found in the Synaxarion.

Philo of Cilicia was a Marcionite deacon in Tarsus. Marcion of Sinope mentioned him in his letters to the Smyrneans and Philadelphians, and he accompanied Marcion on his journey to Rome.

Rhaius Agathopus was also a companion of Marcion of Sinope and a Marcionite deacon in Syria, who met Marcion in Troas on his way to Rome.

Damas was the Marcionite bishop of the church in Magnesia and met Marcion of Sinope as Roman soldiers escorted him along the road to Smyrna. Marcion entrusted him with a letter to his church.

Marcion of Sinope mentioned another bishop, Polybius of Tralles, in his Epistle to the Trallians, where he is described as grave in demeanor and having a gentleness that commanded respect. Polybius visited Marcion at Smyrna while the latter was on his way to martyrdom in Rome.

Other Marcionite Christians we know of are Prepon the Assyrian, Paul of Lebaba, Pitho, Megethius, and Marcus.

Prepon the Assyrian wrote an epistle to Bardaisan or his followers, which is now lost, in which he defends the theological principles of Marcionite Christianity. Prepon also claimed the existence of an intermediate spiritual entity between God the Father and Satan.

Paul of Lebaba was a Marcionite presbyter who erected a church in the Syrian village of Lebaba in 318 C.E. The inscription within the church is the oldest known surviving inscribed reference to Jesus. The full inscription is below:

“The meeting-house of the Marcionites, in the village of Lebaba, of the Lord and Saviour Jesus the Good – Erected by the forethought of Paul a presbyter, in the year 630 Seleucid era.”

Megethius and Marcus are two Marcionite Christian presbyters mentioned in Adamantius’ work, ‘De recta in Deum fide.’ 

Epiphanius says that Theodotion, the translator of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, had been a Marcionite Christian before his apostasy to Judaism. Jerome states that Ambrose of Alexandria was also a Marcionite Christian before his conversion by Origen.

Lastly, Theodoret claims that Blastus, a Monatist presbyter in Rome and a follower of Quartodecimanism, was originally a Marcionite Christian.

Apelles was the chief disciple of Marcion. Apelles started his ministry as a disciple of Marcion in Rome and continued his ministry in the city of Alexandria. He lived until at least the reign of Emperor Commodus between 180-193 C.E.

Philologus of Sinope was the father of Marcion of Sinope and also one of the Seventy Disciples of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Andrew consecrated Philologus as the Bishop of Sinope.

Philologus was also at one point a companion of the Apostle Paul in Rome and is mentioned in the Epistle to the Alexandrians:

“Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.”

Alexandrians 1:15

The Seventy Disciples were the early emissaries of Jesus Christ mentioned in the Evangelicon.

Jesus appointed them and sent them out in pairs on specific missions.

“And after these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself was about to come.”

Evangelicon 9:1

The list below is based originally on a Greek text titled On the Seventy Apostles of Christ, which is attributed to Hippolytus of Rome and known from several manuscripts, the oldest of which is Codex Baroccianus, 206 C.E.

1. Achaicus of Corinth
2. Agabus the Prophet
3. Ampliatus of Odessos
4. Ananias of Damascus
5. Andronicus of Pannonia
6. Apelles of Heraklion
7. Apollos of Caesarea
8. Archippus of Laodicea
9. Aristarchus of Thessalonica
10. Aristobulus of Brittania
11. Artemas of Lystra
12. Asyncritus of Hyrcania
13. Barnabas of Milan
14. Barsabbas of Eleutheropolis
15. Caesar of Dyrrachium
16. Carpus of Beroea
17. Cephas of Iconium
18. Clement of Sardice
19. Cleopas of Jerusalem
20. Crescens of Galatia
21. Demas of Thessalonica
22. Epaphroditus of Andriaca
23. Epenetus of Carthage
24. Erastus of Corinth
25. Evodius of Antioch
26. Fortunatus of Corinth
27. Gaius of Ephesus
28. Hermagoras of Aquileia
29. Hermas of Dalmatia
30. Hermas of Philippopolis
31. Herodion of Patras
32. James the Just
33. Jason of Thessalonica
34. John Mark of Bibloupolis
35. Linus of Rome
36. Lucius of Cyrene
37. Luke the Physician
38. Mark of Apollonia
39. Mark the Evangelist
40. Matthias of Jerusalem
41. Narcissus of Athens
42. Nicanor the Deacon
43. Nicolas the Deacon
44. Olympas the Martyr
45. Onesiphorus of Colophon
46. Parmenas of Soli
47. Parrobus of Pottole
48. Patrobulus of Puteoli
49. Philemon of Gaza
50. Philip the Evangelist
51. Philologus of Sinope
52. Phlegon of Marathon
53. Phygellus of Ephesus
54. Prochorus of Nicomedia
55. Pudens the Senator
56. Quartus of Berytus
57. Rufus of Thebes
58. Silas of Corinth
59. Silvanus of Thessalonica
60. Sosipater of Iconium
61. Sosthenes of Colophonia
62. Stachys of Byzantium
63. Stephen the Protomartyr
64. Tertius of Iconium
65. Thaddeus of Edessa
66. Timon the Deacon
67. Trophimus the Martyr
68. Tychicus of Colophonia
69. Urban of Macedonia
70. Zenas the Lawyer

The Marcionite Church of Christ believes that Paul was elevated to the status of apostle by the resurrected Jesus Christ, thus replacing Judas Iscariot as one of the Twelve Apostles.

The Apostle Paul used the term “false apostles” to primarily describe the Judaizers.

The Judaizers were a group of Jewish Christians who insisted that their co-religionists should follow the Mosaic Law and that Gentile converts to Christianity must first be circumcised.

The Apostle Paul was severely critical of the Judaizers within the Early Church and harshly reprimanded them for their doctrines and behavior. The Apostle Paul saw the Judaizers as being both dangerous to the spread of the one true Gospel and propagators of grievous doctrinal errors. Many of his epistles included in the Testamentum contain considerable material disputing the view of this Judaizing faction and condemning its practitioners.

The Apostle Paul even publicly condemned the Apostle Peter for his seemingly ambivalent reaction to the Judaizers, embracing them publicly in places where their preaching was popular while holding the private opinion that their doctrines were erroneous.

From all indications, the Apostle Paul rejected incorporating any part of Judaism into Christianity. Others such as Barnabas, Basilides, Cerdon, and Marcion, along with the Gnostic Christians, followed Paul’s view that the Hebrew Bible should not be part of Christianity.

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 13:11

Some scholars, such as historian Joseph Turmel have noted similarities in the theology between Marcionite Christians and the early Johannine Christians that produced the Gospel of John and the Johannine Epistles. Marcion of Sinope started his ministry in Anatolia as a disciple of the Apostle John.

Many later Christian sects and movements inherited theological tenets from the Marcionite Christians.

The Paulicians are the most notable sect to have descended from Marcionite Christians. They were confined to the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire. They flourished originally in Armenia, where they came into contact with Zoroastrianism and Manichaenism, and they mixed those beliefs into their syncretic theology.

Paulicians like Marcionites had a strong preference for the works and theology of the Apostle Paul, whom they placed highest among the Apostles.

The founder of the sect was Constantine, the Armenian, originally from a Marcionite Church in Mananalis near Samosata. He began to teach about ~657 C.E.  By this time, most Marcionite Christian communities had ceased to exist. According to Petrus Siculus, who lived amongst Paulicians in Tibrike and is therefore a trustworthy witness, their founder, Constantine the Armenian, on receiving the Marcionite Evangelicon and Apostolicon from a Marcionite deacon in Syria, handed it to his followers, who at first at least kept it as their Bible.

It seems that the Paulicians eventually used a mutilated and enlarged version of Marcion’s original Testamentum. They used only the Gospel of Luke, but they accepted all the epistles save for the Epistles of Peter. However, like the Marcionite Christians, they also rejected the entire Hebrew Bible.

The Paulicians also refused all veneration of Mary, like the Marcionites.

The key theological differences from Marcionite Christians are that they were avowed dualists, docetists, iconoclasts, and non-trinitarian. In these senses, they seemed far closer to gnosticism than Marcionism.

The Paulicians would be slowly deported to Thrace (Modern-day Bulgaria) by the Byzantine Emperors starting in 747 C.E. and culminating In 970 C.E.

These Thracian Paulicians would eventually morph their views into Bogomilism, another Christian sect that flourished in Bulgaria.

The Bogomils then would then eventually morph into Catharism, the Christian sect that flourished in the south of France during the 12th and 14th centuries.

Many of the remaining Thracian Paulicians or Bogomils would eventually convert to Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy by the 17th Century or convert to Islam at the time of the Ottoman conquests. Ethnically the Banat Bulgarians and the Pomaks are descended from these groups.

The Paulicians that were not deported to Thrace and remained in Armenia would later morph into the Tondrakian movement by the 10th century, which continued to exist in Armenia until the 1820s.

If the theory of Baptism successionism is to be accepted, then modern Baptists are descended theologically from Marcionites through the Paulician, Bogomil, and Cathar movements. All these historical sects supported the doctrine of credobaptism.

Historically, the Marcionite Church of Christ was in Apostolic succession.

Marcion of Sinope was a disciple of the Apostle John in Anatolia. Marcion’s father, Philologus of Sinope, was not only one of the Seventy Disciples of Jesus Christ but was also consecrated as Bishop of Sinope by the Apostle Andrew. Philologus was also a companion and disciple of the Apostle Paul in Rome.

Marcion would succeed his father, Philologus, as the Bishop of Sinope.

For all these reasons, the original Marcionite Church of Christ could claim Apostolic succession from three apostles: Paul, John, and Andrew.

Unfortunately, that link has been broken due to millennia of discontinuity between the original Marcionite Church of Christ and the newly revived church.

The Marcionite Church of Christ does not view Apostolic succession as a necessary requirement for ordination. Still, we hope that one day, the church can be brought back into Apostolic succession.

Jesus’ ministry on Earth lasted a little over three years.

The Evangelicon has at least three references to three separate Passovers. Jesus’s first journey to Jerusalem, his second journey to Jerusalem, and finally, the Last Supper.

In addition, the Feast of Levi the Publican is believed to be a fourth reference to a Passover meal.

Utilizing these four Passover references, plus the dates of Jesus’ descent into Capernaum on November 24th, 29 C.E., which corresponds with a total solar eclipse, and his crucifixion on April 3rd, 33 C.E., which corresponds with a lunar eclipse, we arrive at a ministry that lasted three years, four months, and twelve days.

The creed of the Marcionite Church of Christ is simple and based on scripture: Jesus is Lord. 

Yes. The primary tenet and theological doctrine of the Marcionite Church of Christ is ‘Prima Sciptura‘ which is the doctrine that all Christian teachings should be based first and foremost on the scriptures. Marcionite Christianity believes that tradition, experience, and reason can nurture Christianity as long as they are in harmony with the scripture.

Many church traditions that were later adopted by Catholics and other Christians had their roots originally in Marcionite circles. These traditions include separating the date of Christian Easter from the Jewish Passover, prohibiting the observance of the Jewish Sabbath, Eucharistic fasting on Saturday, open communion, the sign of the cross, the reading of the Gospel and Pauline Epistles during the liturgy, full triple or trine immersion baptisms, and the practice of a mixed chalice.

In addition, many Marcionite church traditions were developed based on an antithetical theology, or a theology of opposing Judaism and Judaizing practices.

These include the westward direction of prayer, which was done in opposition to the Jewish practice of praying towards the east. Also, the practice of serving milk and honey to the newly baptized was done in opposition to the Jewish restriction of the use of honey during sacrifices.

According to Marcion, God the Father had not had any previous interactions with the world before Christ, and was wholly unknown. He wrote a work now lost entitled ‘Antithesis,’ in which he contrasted the Hebrew Bible with Christianity – the God of the one, with the deity of the other – the law with the gospel. He represented Christianity as a new system, abrogating the old, and as entirely disconnected from it.

Tertullian quotes from Marcion’s ‘Antithesis‘ once:

“Whereas David in old time, in the capture of Sion, was offended by the blind who opposed his admission into the stronghold so, on the contrary, Christ succored the blind man, to show by this act that He was not David’s son, and how different in disposition He was, kind to the blind, while David ordered them to be slain.”

Marcion’s thinking shows the influence of Hellenistic philosophy on Christianity, and presents a moral critique of the Hebrew Bible from the standpoint of Platonism.

Marcion argued that the Hebrew Bible and the Testamentum cannot be reconciled with each other. The code of conduct advocated by Moses was “an eye for an eye“, but Jesus set this precept aside. Marcion pointed to Isaiah “I make peace and create evil, I the Lord do all these things.” He contrasted this with Jesus’ saying that “a tree was known by its fruit; a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit” and then pointed to several injunctions and lessons in the Hebrew Bible that the Testamentum contradicts. For example, Elisha had children eaten by bears; Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.” Joshua had the sun stopped to prolong the slaughter of his enemies. The Apostle Paul quoted Jesus as commanding, “Let not the sun go down on your wrath.” In the Hebrew Bible, divorce was permitted, and so was polygamy; in the Testamentum, neither is allowed. Moses enforced the Jewish Sabbath and Jewish law, and Jesus deinstitutionalized both.

Even within the Hebrew Bible, Marcion found contradictions. The Hebrew Bible deity commanded that no work should be done on the Sabbath, yet he told the Israelites to carry the Ark of the Covenant around Jericho seven times on the Sabbath. No graven image was to be made, yet Moses was directed to fashion a bronze serpent. The deity revealed in the Hebrew Bible could not have been omniscient. Otherwise, he would not have asked, “Adam, where are you?”

In the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Hebrew Bible deity says, “I will go down now, to see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is come to me; and if not, I will know.” This is another instance of his uncertainty and ignorance.

Also, according to Genesis, Jacob even defeats the Hebrew Bible deity in a wrestling match.

Apelles was a disciple of Marcion. He wrote a book entitled ‘Syllogisms’, in which he attempted to show the falsity of various passages in the Hebrew Bible regarding God. The title of the book suggests that Apelles may have intended to build upon Marcion’s own book titled ‘Antithesis’, which set the Hebrew Bible and the Testamentum against each other.

Ambrose of Milan, in the 4th century, directs some of his comments in his work ‘De Paradiso‘ against Apelles. It is because of this we actually have direct quotes from Apelles’ ‘Syllogisms’.

Some of these fragments can be found below:

“Did God know that Adam would transgress his commandments, or did he not? If he did not know, this is no proclamation of divine power; but if he did know and still knowingly commanded things that would be neglected – it is not for God to command something superfluous. But he did command that first-formed Adam something superfluous, which he knew he would not actually observe. But God does nothing superfluous; therefore, the scripture does not come from God.” 

“Under no circumstances would it have been possible to bring aboard the Ark so many species of animals and their food, which was to last for a whole year, in such a short time. For if the impure animals are said to be led in two by two, that is, two males and two females of each, and the pure animals seven by seven, that is seven pairs, how should it have been possible that the space which is written about could even have held four elephants alone? Thus it is certain that the story is fabricated, and since this is the case, it is certain that this scripture is not of God.”

Sort of. In the Twentieth Century, the emergence of some significant studies on Marcion has led a variety of Christian thinkers to describe Marcion as the initiator of some important customs and features now found in the modern Christian Faith, particularly Protestantism, including an early version of the ‘faith only’ movement or ‘Sola Fide’; an early version of the theory of dispensationalism; the concept of ‘New Testament Christianity’; the New Testament itself, as a distinct body of inspired writings; and a version of ‘Prima Scriptura’, which is the doctrine that all Christian teachings should be based first and foremost on the scriptures. Marcionite Christianity believes that tradition, experience, and reason can nurture Christianity as long as they are in harmony with scripture.

It is for this reason that scholar Adolf von Harnack describes Marcion as the first Protestant.

No. There is no ‘secret knowledge’ involved in the Marcionite Church of Christ. Our beliefs are available for anyone to read in the Testamentum.

The evangelist Marcion was not a Gnostic as claimed by his enemies, but he was a well-educated evangelist engaged in evangelizing the Gentiles in the Roman-controlled countries, especially those bordering the Mediterranean.

He brought more converts to Christianity than any other preacher during the 2^nd Century.

He was well-educated in the scriptures. Even some of those who so drastically opposed him said he was a “man of letters”.

A primary difference between Marcionite Christians and Gnostics was that the Gnostics based their theology on secret works of which they claimed to be in possession, whereas Marcion based his theology on the contents of Paul’s Epistles and the recorded sayings of Jesus — in other words, an argument from scripture. Marcion did not rely on secret visitations or mysterious documents in order to validate his teaching.

Marcion was a man who was determined all by the canon, and Marcion’s use of the Christian canon brought him closer to the scripture-oriented Christianity of the great councils than it did to the myth-oriented Gnostics.

Marcion sponsored an open Christianity that met in churches. The Gnostic affinity or group identity was a secret bond that transcended the local Christian congregations. Marcion preached the Gospel to all, while the Gnostics gloried their elite status by carefully guarding the deepest of their inspired secrets.

Marcion had a practical and ethical interest. The Gnostic interest was philosophical and argumentative.

Love, for the Gnostics, was generally only their conscious desire to return to the Highest Heaven, in company with their friends. Marcion recognized Christ’s great mission as a journey of compassion to this lost world. Loving our enemies is the heart of the Gospel.

Even under secular definitions, the Marcionite Christians are not considered to be Gnostics as we see in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica article on Marcion:

“It was no mere school for the learned, disclosed no mysteries for the privileged, but sought to lay the foundation of the Christian community on the pure gospel, the authentic institutes of Christ. The pure gospel, however, Marcion found to be everywhere more or less corrupted and mutilated in the Christian circles of his time. His undertaking thus resolved itself into a reformation of Christendom. This reformation was to deliver Christendom from false Jewish doctrines by restoring the Pauline conception of the gospel, Paul being, according to Marcion, the only apostle who had rightly understood the new message of salvation as delivered by Christ. In Marcion’s own view, therefore, the founding of his church—to which he was first driven by opposition—amounts to a reformation of Christendom through a return to the gospel of Christ and to Paul; nothing was to be accepted beyond that. This of itself shows that it is a mistake to reckon Marcion among the Gnostics.” 

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church also puts the question of Marcionite Christian association with Gnosticism to rest with:

“It is clear that he would have had little sympathy with their mythological speculations.”

No. Docetism is the heterodox doctrine that the phenomenon of Jesus, his historical and bodily existence, and above all, the human form of Jesus, was a mere semblance without any true reality. Broadly it is taken as the belief that Jesus only seemed to be human and that his human form was an illusion.

There is no credible evidence that Marcion was a docetist. Marcion’s alleged belief that Christ was a phantom is found in accusations made by Tertullian, but these accusations are a form of reductio ad absurdum and not firsthand information on Marcion’s Christology. There are, in fact, remnants of data in Tertullian’s Adversus Marcionem, which point to Marcion’s teaching about the material flesh of Christ, a flesh that suffers and dies on the cross. Tertullian dismisses these artifacts as proof that Marcion was simply foolishly inconsistent. Today, scholars should no longer accept Tertullian’s caricature uncritically, especially in light of the overwhelming amount of other second and third-century sources that are unanimously silent about any docetic thinking in Marcion.

Docetism is not a belief supported by the Testamentum and is broadly refuted by Marcion’s disciple Apelles.

According to the early Christian writer Rhodo, Apelles rejected the docetic accusations that were leveled against Marcion. Apelles preached that Jesus did possess true human flesh, but he simply denied that Jesus was born of human parents. The Testamentum lacks a birth or nativity narrative for Jesus, the Virgin Mary is never mentioned, and it opens with Jesus’ descent from Heaven into Capernaum. Apelles reaffirmed the Marcionite Christian belief that Jesus descended directly from Heaven to the Earth and rejected the idea of the virgin birth of Jesus.

Ultimately, many of the allegations of Marcionite Christian theological doctrines are largely false due to most of the sources being hostile and opposed to the Marcionite Christians.

“But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a phantom. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.”

Evangelicon 23:36-42

The false accusations of docetism against Marcion of Sinope and his followers may have been due to a conflation with the similarly named Marcian of Rhossus, who lived at the same time.

Marcian of Rhossus was the leader of a docetist sect that either wrote or used the Gospel of Peter.

Since Marcion of Sinope believed that Peter and the other apostles didn’t truly understand Jesus’ true message, only Paul the Apostle did, it is unlikely that this Marcian of Rhossos was the same person as Marcion of Sinope.

In addition, it appears one of Marcion’s disciples, Lucanus, upheld the beliefs of docetism, denying the reality of the body of Christ, as well as the immateriality and immortality of the soul. These were not views held by the wider Marcionite Church.

Lastly, Marcion’s eschatology, which is identical to the Apostle Paul’s eschatology, asserts that only the souls or spirits of Christians will be resurrected, not their flesh or blood. This belief may have been the basis for the false accusations of docetism against Marcion, erroneously claiming that this belief extended to Christ’s resurrection being only of spirit and not flesh, which is not a belief supported by the Evangelicon.

No. Marcionite Christians are not dualists in any sense other than the fact that the Testamentum contains some dualistic elements. Namely, Satan is the adversary of man and God.

Marcion’s disciple Apelles rebuked the charges of dualism against Marcionite Christians. Apelles reaffirmed the belief in only one Supreme God, the Father of Christ.

Apelles was quoted as saying:

“One good God, one Beginning, and one Power beyond all description.”

Dualism refers to the belief that God and creation are distinct, but interrelated.

Apelles stated that the Marcionite Christian belief was not a dualistic belief of two distinct Gods, one for the ‘Old’ Testament and one for the ‘New’ Testament, but rather that the deity depicted in the Hebrew Bible was false and that the Hebrew Bible was without any divine inspiration or religious significance to Christians, largely consisting of fables, contradictions, and failed prophecies with only some historical or moral relevance. In the Testamentum it is confirmed that God first revealed himself through Christ.

The Marcionite Church of Christ ascribes to the belief of Dyophysitism, the position that Jesus Christ is one person of one substance and one hypostasis, with two distinct, inseparable natures, divine and human.

Marcion of Sinope emphasized both the oneness of Christ and the reality of his twofold mode of existence:

“There is one only physician, of flesh and of spirit, generate and ingenerate, God in man, true Life in death, Son of Man and Son of God, first passible and then impassible, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Ephesians 5:8

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

2 Corinthians 4:4

The phrase “god of this world” is a reference to Satan and indicates that Satan is the most significant influence on the ideals, opinions, goals, hopes, and views of the majority of people. His influence also encompasses the world’s philosophies, education, and commerce. The thoughts, ideas, speculations, and false religions of the world are under his control and have sprung from his lies and deceptions.

Satan is also called the “prince of the power of the air” in Laodiceans 2:2.

These titles and many more signify Satan’s capabilities. To say, for example, that Satan is the “prince of the power of the air” is to signify that, in some way, he rules over the world and the people in it.

This is not to say that Satan rules the world completely; God is still sovereign. But it does mean that God, in His infinite wisdom, has allowed Satan to operate in this world within the boundaries God has set for him. When the Testamentum says Satan has power over the world, we must remember that God has given him domain over unbelievers only. Believers are no longer under the rule of Satan.

So, when the Apostle says that Satan is the “god of this world,” he is not saying that he has ultimate authority. He is conveying the idea that Satan rules over the unbelieving world in a specific way. Satan’s scheme includes promoting false philosophies in the world—philosophies that blind the unbeliever to the truth of the Gospel. Satan’s philosophies are the fortresses in which people are imprisoned, and they must be set free by Christ.

Marcionite Christianity teaches that moral evil is the result of disobedience to God. You do not need an evil demiurge or dualistic worldview to explain moral evil.

Moral evil is evil that is caused by human activity, such as murder, rape, theft, hatred, and jealousy. These are all moral evils. When people, created in the image of God, choose to act in defiance of God, the result is moral evil. Moral evil can also be linked to inaction—to ignore a cry for help is a moral evil.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

Romans 4:12

The result of this cumulative disobedience is the evil that we see in the world today and the suffering caused by that moral evil, not by God.

The violence, immorality, and hatred in the world are caused by man’s unwillingness to love and obey God and love his neighbor as himself.  If you could trace every moral evil in this world to its root, you would find sins as the true causes of man’s suffering.

God does not remove moral evil because it is the direct result of man’s choice. To remove moral evil is to remove choice, and to remove choice is to eliminate man as a free-thinking, independent, and eternal being. You cannot be an eternal being if you do not possess free will. You need free will in order to be eternal. For this reason, then, God uses the moral evil in the world to teach mankind lessons about good, things man once knew but lost because of sin.

A being without free will is not a being made in the image of God. Man must be able to glorify God by willfully and freely obeying God. The worship of God requires free will because worship that is automated is no worship at all. It is an insult to God. In order to be in the image of God, therefore, man had to be created with the ability to exercise his free will.

The problem of moral evil and sin was taken care of by the cross, and the problem of death was overcome by Jesus’ resurrection. Evil exists now. Evil creates suffering now. Evil leads to death now. However, God has dealt with evil, suffering, and death by offering us forgiveness for the moral evil that we do and hope for a life with God where will be no evil or suffering.

Imagine if there was no possibility of forgiveness for the moral evil that we all commit? God has provided a measure of relief from the suffering we experience, as well as support and reassurance while we go through our various trials. He has given us His word. Has given us His Spirit. These are the things that sustain us in our suffering. He has also given us the promise of resurrection and eternal life after death, and these have been confirmed by the resurrection of Jesus and offered to everyone through the Gospel.

We are insignificant, and it seems that we don’t have much influence in stopping the moral evil in this world. However, the good news is that God has given each of us the power to stop the effects of moral evil in our own lives through Jesus Christ. We mitigate the moral evil in the world by first removing it from our own lives through Christ and then lessening its impact on every soul we bring to Christ through the Gospel.

So what is the Marcionite Christian solution to the problem of natural evil?

First, what is natural evil? Natural evil is one that causes pain and suffering to humanity but which is not due to direct human involvement, as is the case with moral evil. Congenital diseases, tsunamis, earthquakes, drought, and famine are all cases of natural evil. There is no morality involved in such events.

Some see natural evil as a real obstacle to belief in an omnipotent, benevolent God. They say that, if a human being allowed or did the kinds of things that God does or allows, then that person would be morally evil. If it would be wrong for a human being to do these things, why are they not wrong for God?

Firstly. God does not answer to us, but we must answer to God:

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Romans 12:12

God alone holds the power of life and death. It would be wrong for a person to kill because human beings do not have that prerogative. God, on the other hand, does. He is the creator and giver of life, and God can withdraw that gift when, and in what manner God chooses.

We have all sinned:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Romans 3:23

And thus, we all deserve the death penalty:

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 5:23

The mere fact that God allows any of us to live is a sign of God’s grace and forbearance.

Natural evil is also a result of human sin. The Apostle Paul tells us that all of creation is currently suffering, waiting for the time when it can be set free:

“For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”

Romans 7:20–22

Broadly speaking, natural evil is God’s judgment of humanity.

In addition, it should be noted that natural evil is exacerbated by human sin. When there is a disaster, there are often many examples of people working and giving sacrificially and heroically in order to help alleviate suffering. Unfortunately, there will also be many examples of people acting in selfish and cowardly ways to the detriment of those around them.

Ultimately, the only hope for people in a world filled with natural evil is Jesus Christ. He does not promise escape from the natural evil in this world. In fact, Jesus promises that his followers will experience it. Jesus also promises that believers will have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God in which there is no evil or suffering of any kind. The created order will be restored to its original balance, eliminating natural evil, and the people will be conformed to the image of Christ, thus eliminating moral evil.

And so, natural evil exists in this world, and it causes great suffering. This is an undeniable fact. However, the mere existence of natural evil does not mean that God ignores it or that God is not active in dealing with and responding to the natural evil in the world.

But couldn’t God have created a world without evil? Let’s take a look at a few of the options. If God had not created anything, there would be no evil. But is nothing better than something? Hardly. This would be a world without morality. What if God created a world where people could not choose? God could force everyone to stop before they were able to carry out evil behavior. But is such a world where freedom does not exist good?

God knows best, and, as such, God knows that our world is the best way to the best possible world. Yes, there will be evil and suffering along the way. We can rejoice with the Apostle Paul when he wrote:

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Romans 8:18. 

So now that we know why there is evil in the world, how are we to respond to the suffering from that evil?

The Apostle Paul himself suffered much for Christ’s sake, yet he seemed to embrace, not resist this suffering. For this reason, Paul can teach us much about suffering—its causes, its rewards, its effects, and our responses, among other things.

1. Suffering is evidence that we belong to God.
2. Suffering leads to hope.
3. Suffering results in more and more people giving glory to God.
4. God is sovereign over our suffering.
5. We are not alone in our suffering.

Most importantly, we discover that, though suffering is necessary and normal, its rewards are rich, and its resulting joy everlasting.

Firstly, the Apostle Paul taught that suffering leads to hope. Suffering grows in us a deeper hope, a hope for the unseen, a hope for things that will last forever.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

Romans 4:1-5

The Apostle Paul also taught that God permitted him and other Christians to bear sufferings beyond their strength and endurance in order to teach them to trust more in God:

“For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.”

II Corinthians 1:8-11

God rules over everything. That is the Apostle Paul’s point in the verse often quoted to sufferers:

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Romans 7:28

Unfortunately, Christians sometimes forget that God’s idea of what is good may differ from ours.

For example, the Apostle Paul prayed that God would remove a “thorn in the flesh,” some type of unidentified suffering (II Corinthians 12:7-8).

God answered Paul’s prayer by telling him:

“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

I Corinthians 12:9

In other words, God denied Paul’s request to remove the suffering because he knew that Paul’s weakness would be good for Paul, for others, and for his own glory.

The Apostle Paul further taught that God comforts us in our suffering so that we might comfort others. As Paul explained:

“Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

II Corinthians 1:4

Those who have wandered the same wilderness of suffering often have a unique power to bring comfort to others in their situation. In such situations, the comforters become grateful for the suffering they have experienced because it allows them to minister to another hurting person.

The Apostle Paul said that all of creation endures the suffering of this fallen world alongside us:

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”

Romans 8:22

Disease, death, and decay are all part of living in this world until Christ returns to make things new.

The good news, the Apostle Paul reminded us, is that:

“Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”

Philippians 4:5

That is, Jesus is close to us in our suffering, and he is soon coming to restore all broken things.

Jesus tells us very clearly that Satan is a fallen archangel, and thus devils are fallen angels:

“And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fallen from heaven.”

Evangelicon 9:18

This came after the 70 disciples returned to Jesus excited that they had authority over devils in Jesus’ name, but Jesus let them know that this should not have been surprising to them. Satan had already fallen from heaven, and he had no authority over Jesus, the Son of God. Because Jesus sent the disciples out in his authority, this meant that they also had his authority over the demonic realm. Jesus equipped his disciples with his power and protection.

“Behold, I give unto you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Evangelicon 9:19

Even better than the authority the disciples have in Christ, Jesus points out, is their salvation. Salvation is the greatest cause that we all have for joy:

“Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in the heavens.”

Evangelicon 9:20

Until Jesus returns and overthrows the kingdom of darkness once and for all, believers will face an ongoing spiritual battle against the evil forces at work in the world. God has given us the power and authority we need to resist Satan and devils:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” 

Laodiceans 6:10-18

Yes. While Marcion of Sinope and the early Marcionite Church were most likely Modalists up until the third-century because Cyprian of Carthage claimed Marcionites originally baptized converts only in the name of Jesus Christ, Marcionism eventually embraced Trinitarianism. A disciple of Marcion and a contemporary of Apelles, Syneros, affirmed the trinitarian beliefs of Marcionite Christians in his belief of the ‘three natures’, which was an early conceptualization of the formal theological doctrine of the Trinity.

Scripture reveals the three elements of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.

Further, by the fourth-century, Augustine of Hippo claimed that in his time, Marcionites baptized converts “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

This is further reinforced by the fact that Marcionite baptisms were accepted as valid by other churches, as can be seen from certain voices during the third-century Baptismal controversy.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” 

Evangelicon 24:74

The Apostle Paul even includes the Trinitarian formula in some of his epistles. One such example:

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”

2 Corinthians 13:14

Lastly, the Psalmicon seems to support a trinitarian theology without any indications of subordinationism:

“And the name of the Father was on it and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to rule for ever and ever. Amen.” 

Psalmicon 21:20

Yes. Christocentrism is a doctrinal term within Christianity describing theological positions that focus on Jesus Christ. Christocentric theologies make Christ the central theme about which all other theological positions and doctrines are oriented.

The Christocentric method is first mentioned by the Apostle Paul:

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

Romans 8:7

Marcion of Sinope thematically builds on this and demonstrates that Christ, or the revelation of Christ, is the magisterial and inviolable record.

Marcion considers the incarnation of Christ to be superior to the Hebraic writings when he counters Judeo-Christians on what is considered authoritative:

“For I heard certain persons saying, If I find it not in the charters, I believe it not in the Gospel. And when I said to them, It is written, they answered me That is the question. But as for me, my charter is Jesus Christ, the inviolable charter is His cross and His death and His resurrection, and faith through Him.”

Philadelphians 9:6-8

Yes. The doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus is so well accepted and cherished by most Christians that it has become a criterion for membership in most Christian organizations. All those who would dare to question it are generally held in contempt. Most bible scholars tell us that the Gospel of Mark is the earliest of all the other gospels.  We find nothing in this gospel about Jesus’s birth or his childhood.  The opening statement in the Gospel of Mark is much closer to the Marcionite Christian Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the first canon of the Christian Bible that was transcribed, compiled, and canonized by Marcion of Sinope. Likewise, the Gospel of John, we are told, is the most recent of the four gospels. We also find nothing in this gospel about Jesus’s birth or his childhood. The writers or editors of these gospels either did not know about the virgin birth of Jesus or thought it was not noteworthy enough to mention.

The other two Gospels of Matthew and Luke both mention the birth of Jesus. The traditional nativity stories are taken from these two gospels. The details of the nativity stories in these gospels are very different and even conflict with each other. Both seem to indicate this child was not conceived in the usual human way but rather by an intervention of God’s Spirit; thus, it is a contradiction to give a physical genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, as both gospels do, if the Holy Spirit and not Joseph was his father. Most mainstream Christians seem to ignore this contradiction altogether, pretending it doesn’t exist.

The myth of the virgin birth was not first with Christianity, but some early Christians stole it from non-Christian religions. In the Hindu religion, the god Vishnu had an incarnate Son, Krishna, by a virgin birth. This was about 1156 B.C.E. It is also interesting to note that at his birth, there was a special star in the sky, there were shepherds, and the local king, out of jealousy, slaughtered infants. The myth of the virgin birth of other gods is the Buddha, the Egyptian god Horus, the Roman savior Quarrnus, the Greek deity Adonis, and the Persian god Mithra, who was born on December 25th.

So when did Christianity begin to believe and teach that Jesus was virgin born? It seems to have been shortly after the first Christian missionaries returned from India. This was sometime shortly after the turn of the first century. Having learned of the birth story of the Hindu god Krishna, these early Christian missionaries felt the Son of God they worshipped should also have these credentials. This is why they adopted the Hindu story, with some variations, including the star, the shepherds, and a king whose jealousy motivated him to murder infants. They stole the birth story of Jesus from the Hindus.

It still stands that there is no solid evidence of any virgin birth stories of Jesus that came out of the 1st century C.E.  There is no record of the four gospels, as we now have them until mentioned by Irenaeus in 190 C.E. If this subject were investigated from all available sources, not just one-sided history, one would see at once the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, were developed during the 2nd century using some 1st-century material. At this time, the Church in Rome took liberties to edit and even insert passages into the scriptures.

So, in conclusion, the teaching of the virgin birth of Christ is an unfounded fable, a myth that was invented and placed in the gospels. This doctrine developed during the 2nd century. The virgin birth is a fable that was borrowed from pagan religions, and the convoluted supposed genealogy of Jesus was added to tie him to Hebrew Bible prophecies and Davidic lineage. One should not be required to commit intellectual suicide in believing a lie to be a Christian.

It’s what Jesus accomplished at the cross that is all-important. The Christian faith is founded upon the death and resurrection of Christ, not his birth. The Christian faith either stands or falls on the fact of the resurrection of Christ.

“Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.” 

Alexandrians 8:3

No. James the Just was the first of Jesus Christ’s seventy disciples and the first bishop of the Jerusalem Church.

Paul the Apostle further describes him as one of the three ‘pillars‘ of the Church, its governing triumvirate, along with the Apostles Peter and John:

“And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”

Galatians 2:9

The Apostle Paul also describes him as the ‘Lord’s Brother‘:

“But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.”

Galatians 1:19

James the Just is also mentioned in the Apostle Paul’s as one to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection:

“And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.”

1 Corinthians 15:4-7

In this same passage, the same Koine Greek word ‘adelphoi’ (brethren or brothers) is used, but not in a blood-relation sense.

Neither Catholic, Orthodox, or Lutheran Christians teach that James the Just was Jesus’ biological brother. They speculate that he may have been a cousin, half-brother, or step-brother.

The Marcionite Church of Christ rejects any biological relationship.

Marcionite Christians believe that James the Just is not Jesus’ earthly brother but a spiritual brother.

The terms ‘brother‘ and ‘brethren‘ are used throughout Paul’s epistles to denote spiritual brothers, not biological ones.

The Apostle Paul refers to Apollos as his brother, not in a biological sense but in a spiritual sense:

“As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time.”

1 Corinthians 16:12

The Apostle Paul also describes Timothy as a brother:

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia.”

2 Corinthians 1:1

Later in that same epistle, Paul describes Titus as his brother:

” I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.”

2 Corinthians 2:13

In another epistle, the Apostle Paul describes Tychicus as a beloved brother:

“But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things.”

Laodiceans 6:21

Another example is where the Apostle Paul calls Onesimus his beloved brother:

“With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.”

Colossians 4:9

The Apostle Paul also calls Epaphroditus his brother:

“Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.”

Phillippians 2:25

And finally, the Apostle Paul calls Sosthenes his brother:

“Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother.”

1 Corinthians 1:1

These examples show that the words ‘brother‘ and the plural ‘brothers‘ or ‘brethren‘ were not meant to denote biological or blood relationships but rather spiritual ones. In Koine Greek, the language Paul the Apostle wrote in, the Greek word for ‘brother‘ is ‘adelphos‘, which can also be translated as ‘fellow‘ or a ‘kinsman‘ in trade or belief but not of any blood relationship.

Paul the Apostle called James the Just the Lord’s Brother as a term of respect to show that while James was not one of the original Twelve Apostles, just as Paul wasn’t,  he was still Jesus’ chief disciple, the leader of the Jerusalem Church, and someone to whom Jesus appeared after the resurrection.

So if Jesus was not born to Mary and Joseph, then why did he call himself ‘Jesus’? Well, the name Jesus is a derivative of the Hebrew name Yeshua which literally means ‘to rescue,’ ‘to save,’ or ‘salvation.’

These are all things that Jesus was sent to do. He was sent for the salvation of all people and all nations.

So while we may never fully know or understand the workings of the divine since we are simple mortals, we can use our logic to deduce that Jesus gave himself a name that would be readily understood by the masses to whom he preached while also having symbolic value to reflect his mission on Earth.

So why, of all the places on Earth, did Jesus decide to descend to a small fishing village in Galilee?

We may never fully know or understand the workings of the divine since we are simple mortals; we can still use our logic to reason or deduce.

Jesus may have chosen to descend into Galilee, and preach there, in Samaria, and Judea, because this was the primary or even only area of the world at that time that practiced a form of monotheism and thus should have had the easiest time accepting Jesus and his message.

In addition, Jesus may have chosen to descend to the land west of the Jordan River in response to the preaching by John the Baptist.

“For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Evangelicon 5:29

The Jews and Samaritans generally believed in an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and incorporeal deity. These are all characteristics of God the Father, who first revealed himself to the world during the Transfiguration of Jesus.

Lastly, some Marcionite Christians believe that Yahweh is Satan. Thus, Jesus may have specifically chosen to descend into a land that worshipped Satan to destroy his laws and prophets:

“Think not that I am come to fulfil the law, or the prophets: I am not come to fulfil, but to destroy.”

Evangelicon 14:16

Ultimately, however, these are mere guesses; the focus of our faith should always be on the teachings of Jesus first and foremost.

No. The Jewish Messiah is to be a warrior, a bearer of arms, and mighty in the art of war.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has already come, is far different from the Jewish Messiah.

The difference between our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the Jewish Messiah, is that the Jewish Messiah was sent for the restoration of a single nation alone from its dispersion, while our Lord Jesus Christ was sent for the liberation of the whole human race, for the salvation of all nations.

Isaiah’s description of the Jewish Messiah at no point suits our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah’s Jewish Messiah is to be called Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14); then, he takes the riches of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria against the King of Assyria (Isaiah 8:4).

Our Lord Jesus Christ was neither born under such a name nor ever engaged in such war-like enterprises.

Our Lord Jesus Christ had never been foretold, certainly not in the Hebrew Bible. The suffering on the cross was not predicted for the Jewish Messiah; moreover, it should not be believed that the deity depicted in the Hebrew Bible would expose his Messiah to that kind of death on which he himself had pronounced a curse:

“And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.”

Deuteronomy 21:22-23

Marcion taught that Christ was the sudden savior, who descended down from Heaven in the form of a fully mature human, snatched believers from the bondage of the Law, and then he ascended back to Heaven. He was not the Messiah of Jewish expectations. Marcion and his followers did not subject themselves to the Torah or any of the Jewish practices. Marcion’s Testamentum did not in any way tie the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible to Christ or to the church and its teachings.

Marcionite Christians would not have used the word ‘Christ’, which is ‘Christos‘ in Greek, to express belief in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah.

They would have understood the word in its basic sense of ‘anointed,’ which would probably have referred to the anointing Jesus received prior to his passion:

“My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.”

Evangelicon 5:47

None of the ancient critics of Marcion and his theology mentioned Marcionite Christians using a different word to describe Christ. However, Tertullian does specifically describe that Marcionite Christians anointed their newly baptized members with oil, showing a tradition of mimicking Jesus’ own anointment.

It is true, however,  that Paul of Lebaba, a Marcionite presbyter, erected a church in the Syrian village of Lebaba on October 1st, 318 C.E. The inscription within the church is the oldest known surviving inscribed reference to Jesus and refers to him with a similar Greek word, ‘Chrestos‘ which means ‘good‘ or ‘righteous‘. The full inscription is below:

“The meeting-house of the Marcionites, in the village of Lebaba, of the Lord and Saviour Jesus the Good – Erected by the forethought of Paul a presbyter, in the year 630 Seleucid era.”

‘Jesus the Good‘ is simply another title for Jesus, not that it was used exclusively or in opposition to the use of ‘Christ‘. Jesus has many titles in the Testamentum, including but not limited to Son of God and Son of Man.

Even in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the word ‘Christ‘ was not used exclusively to refer to a Jewish Messiah.

It was a title applied to the Kings of Israel, High Priests, Patriarchs, Prophets, and even foreign rulers, such as Cyrus the Great.

Jesus was anointed on his feet, not his head, which is also different from how ancient Israelites practiced anointing with oil on the head. Again, this is another point of difference between the Marcionite Christian understanding of Christ and the Jewish Messiahship.

Being anointed was associated with kingship; thus, the title ‘Christ‘ was recognized by Marcionite Christians to apply to the idea of the Kingdom of God, where Christ is described as being seated at the right hand of God.

All of this constitutes one of the reasons that Marcionite Christians heavily make use of the Chi Rho symbol. The Chi Rho is a Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two capital letters—chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek alphabet. These are the first two letters of both ‘Christos‘ and ‘Chrestos.’ This symbolizes the double meaning of both the anointing of Jesus and his pure goodness.

No. Melchizedec is not Jesus Christ; Melchizedec is used as a literary representation or prefiguring of Jesus in the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Alexandrians.

Melchizedec only briefly appears in the Book of Genesis when he offers a sacrifice of bread and wine and accepts a tithe offering from Abraham. Because he appears mysteriously, and the Hebrew Bible gives no account of his origin or demise, the Book of Genesis makes it appear that he was an eternal priest without beginning or end. His name is also not really a name but rather a title, ‘King of Righteousness.’

The Apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the Alexandrians, states that Melchizedec resembles the Son of God, not that he is the Son of God. Jesus is indeed like Melchizedec in that he is without beginning or end and offers a sacrifice of bread and wine.

The Apostle Paul never says definitively who exactly Melchizedec was because he was using the story to teach his Christological views to the Alexandrians, who were Hebrews and would have known the story of Melchizedec.

“Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”

Alexandrians 8:5

Yes. The idea of Christian independence from Judaism was first popularized by Marcion. Catholicism, in response, grew in many ways to counter that thinking. Many theological modifications would be made in the Catholic Church until much of the simplicity evident in Marcion’s day became either obscured or entirely lost. By keeping the law about Jewish monotheism as its chief doctrine, as is attested in the creeds, Catholicism opened the door to regain various other features borrowed from the religion of the Hebrew Bible. By following the pattern of ancient Israel, Catholicism began to augment its hierarchy, its ritualism, and its animosity towards independent thinkers.

Before Marcion, Christianity was often viewed by Pagans as indistinguishable from Judaism. Marcion’s effort called for a clear distinction. Afterward, Judaizers became increasingly isolated, so they had to take an independent course. This was predictable because its strong Jewish anchor made it totally incompatible with Marcion’s idea of New Testament Christianity.

Prior to Marcion’s revival of Paul’s theology, many Christians were backsliding into Judaism. Many Christians were even using the Hebrew Bible as scripture. After Marcion openly published the Testamentum there arose four clear divisions in Christianity. These groups were denominated: the Gnostics, the Catholics, the Judaizers, and the Marcionites.

“Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.”

Titus 1:13

Yes. Marcionite Christianity claims no descent or affiliation with Abraham or his supposed covenant.

No. Nor are any such views reflected in the Testamentum. Just as other religions don’t put Christian scriptures in their religious books we don’t include theirs in ours. Although we pray that they turn to Christ and are saved we have no interest in their theology or deities.

Yes. Marcionite Christians believe in the principle of salvation by faith and divine grace and assert that the saved are not bound to follow the Law of Moses, which is set aside for the Law of Christ. Marcionite Christians did not, however, make repudiation of the Law of Moses an excuse for fleshly indulgence.

These views are based on the writings of the Apostle Paul, such as when he writes:

“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.”

Romans 5:14-15

The Apostle Paul continues by saying:

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

Romans 8:7

Moral laws, as opposed to civil or ceremonial laws, are derivative of what the Apostle Paul indirectly refers to as natural law:

“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.” 

Romans 2:5-6

The Apostle Paul describes the Galatians as foolish for relying on being observant of the Law of Moses:

“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

Galatians 3:1-5

The Apostle Paul, in his Letters, says that believers are saved by the unearned grace of God, not by good works, and placed a priority on orthodoxy (the right belief) before orthopraxy (the right practice):

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Laodiceans 2:8-9

The Apostle Paul also references liberty in not obeying or adhering to the law of Moses:

“And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.”

Galatians 2:4

The Apostle Paul’s antinomianism is furthered strengthened when he writes:

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” 

Colossians 2:13-14

Yes. The Marcionite Church rejected all the ecumenical councils. Only adhering to the pre-ecumenical Apostolic Council of Jerusalem of 48 C.E., which is the only such council referenced in scripture and the only council presided over by the Apostles themselves.

The Apostolic Council of Jerusalem declared that Christians were not to keep any Jewish fasts, and other specific rituals, including the rules concerning the circumcision of males. The Council did, however, retain the prohibitions on abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, eating blood, meat containing blood, and meat of animals that were strangled, and on fornication and idolatry. These prohibitions are sometimes referred to as the Apostolic Decree.

Yes. Marcionite Christians believe in creationism; we believe that God is the absolute creator of Heaven and Earth and life itself. We, however, do reject the creation myth as depicted in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. We do not believe the Earth was created in 6 days or that the Earth is only a few thousand years old. Our belief in Prima Scriptura means that where answers are lacking in scripture, we can turn to our own human reason and logic; therefore, we defer to science on the finer details of creation while still retaining our belief that, ultimately, God created the universe.

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Colossians 1:15-17

Marcion’s disciple, Apelles, postulated that the material world may have been created by an archangel.

Yes. Sola Fide, meaning justification by faith alone, asserts that it is on the basis of faith that believers are made right of their transgressions of God rather than on the basis of what the Apostle Paul calls “works of the law“, sometimes called ‘good works‘.  These good works are seen to be evidence of faith, but the works themselves do not determine salvation.

“And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”

Evangelicon 5:51

In his Homily to Diognetus, Marcion of Sinope discusses the human inability to merit justification through good works. Marcion views salvation as God’s work granted to those who exercise faith, which then causes works.

The soteriology of Marcionite Christians, particularly as showcased in the Psalmicon, is highly grace-oriented, underlined by a doctrine of election. The Marcionite Christians saw salvation as a work of God that is not accomplished by human merit. In this sense, Marcionite Christians supported a form of imputed righteousness.

Imputed righteousness is a theological concept proposing that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to believers—that is, treated as if it were theirs—through faith. It is on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness that God the Father accepts humans. This acceptance is also referred to as justification.

Yes. The ransom theory of atonement says that Christ liberated humanity from slavery to sin and Satan, and thus death, by giving his own life as a ransom sacrifice to Satan, swapping the life of the perfect for the lives of the imperfect. It entails the idea that God deceived the devil and that Satan, or death, had power over sinful souls in the afterlife due to the fall of man and inherited sin.

It theorized that Jesus’ divinity was masked by his human form, so Satan tried to take Jesus’ soul without realizing that his divinity would destroy Satan’s power.

Marcion of Sinope was known to have said:

“We are the price of the blood of Jesus.”

This is a saying of redemption, implying that our redemption is secured, we are saved, and made free by the blood of Christ.

Irenaeus and Origen built on Marcion’s idea that the devil held legitimate rights over humans who were bought free by the blood of Christ.

Yes. Annihilationism is the belief that all damned humans and fallen angels, including Satan, will be totally destroyed and their consciousness extinguished rather than suffering forever in Hell. Annihilationism stands in contrast to both the belief in eternal torment and the universalist belief that everyone will be saved.

Annihilationism is directly related to Christian conditionalism, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless given eternal life. Annihilationism asserts that God will destroy and cremate the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Thus, those who do not repent of their sins are eventually destroyed because of the incompatibility of sin with God’s holy character.

Marcion of Sinope endorses the doctrine of Annihilationism in his Epistle to the Magnesians:

“For if He should imitate us according to our deeds, we are lost.”

Magnesians 8:2

The Apostle Paul teaches that the wicked will justly suffer for their sins, but the end result will be their destruction:

“Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.”

2 Thessalonians 1:9

Yes. The theory of ‘dispensationalism‘ maintains that history is divided into multiple ‘dispensations‘ in which God acts in multiple different ways. The Marcionite Christian version of dispensationalism is simply that God the Father never revealed himself or interacted with humanity prior to the unexpected and sudden arrival of Jesus Christ in 29 C.E.

Marcionite Christians strive to return to the purest and most original form of Christianity. In doing so, we utilize the ‘Chi Rho,’ the earliest known record of a Christogram, as our primary symbol. The Chi Rho formed by superimposing the first two capital letters—chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos) in such a way that the vertical stroke of the rho intersects the center of the chi. The Alpha and Omega symbols never flank the Marcionite Christian Chi Rho, as this is a reference to the non-canonical Book of Revelations. Our use of the Chi Rho over the typical cross reflects our uniqueness among other Christian denominations because there are few extant examples of the cross in  2nd-century Christian iconography. It has been argued that early Christians were reluctant to use it as it depicts a purposely painful and gruesome method of public execution. During the first three centuries of the Christian era, the cross was a symbol of minor importance when compared to the prominence given to it later. However, we do not reject or prohibit using a Cross or Crucifix in any way, shape, or form. Our only restriction of Christian iconography and symbolism is that it is based on the scripture found in the Testamentum. Ultimately, the Chi Rho attempts to reflect our order of priority in faith – the resurrection is far more critical than the physical death.

Yes. While the theological views of the Marcionite Church of Christ are very much out of step with the prevailing orthodoxy of most Christian denominations we still firmly believe that we should work together to develop closer relationships among other churches and promote Christian unity.

Yes. Circumcision is carnal mutilation and a barbaric practice. We prohibit it along with all other forms of mutilation of the flesh.

The womb is sacred. Killing an innocent child in the womb is murder.

“…Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the breasts which thou didst suck.”

Evangelicon 10:27

Marriage, otherwise known as the sacrament of Holy Matrimony, is always between one man and one woman. We reject and prohibit same-sex marriage and polygamy of any form.

“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”

Alexandrians 14:2

We do not allow or recognize divorce between properly baptized Christians. We do, however, recognize the Pauline privilege, which allows for the dissolution of the marriage of two persons who, at the time the marriage occurred, did not have a proper credobaptism via triple immersion and then sealed by Chrismation or Confirmation. Divorce otherwise is akin to adultery and is prohibited.

“And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.”

1 Corinthians 7:10–15

Marcion of Sinope distinguished Christians from non-Christians on the issue of abortion in his Homily to Digonetus by saying:

“They marry like all other men and they beget children; But they do not cast away their offspring.”

Diognetus 5:8-9

No. We only fear God. If you have homosexual thoughts you should pray. You are not guilty of any sin unless you act on those thoughts.

The Testamentum was assembled and transcribed by Marcion of Sinope around 128 C.E. It was the first codified Christian Biblical canon, almost 300 years before the compilation of the standard Biblical canon used by most mainline Christian denominations today.

According to scholar Wolfram Kinzig, Marcion called his Bible the Testamentum, which is Latin for ‘Testament’.

The Testamentum was not divided into ‘Old’ and ‘New’ testaments like the modern Bible and was dramatically shorter.

The distinction between ‘Old’ and ‘New’ testaments only started around 170 C.E. when Melito of Sardis coined those terms. This was done as a direct response to the teachings of Marcion.

The Testamentum was divided into two parts: the gospel (or Evangelicon) and the original ten Epistles of Paul (or Apostolicon).

Marcion’s canon rejected the entire 46-book ‘Old’ Testament, along with all other epistles and gospels of what would become the 27-book ‘New’ Testament canon, which during his life had yet to be compiled.

When the Testamentum was transcribed and canonized in 128 C.E. there was only the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ – the revelation given directly to Paul the Apostle by Jesus that he preached throughout the known world.

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

Galatians 1:8-9

These gospels were written and published well after the Testamentum, some even using unknown authors, they are not divinely inspired, and they have no bearing on our faith beyond providing some historical insights. Although many biblical scholars and theologians now speculate they are simply edited and expanded, versions of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ created to form a confusing and imaginary tapestry between the Hebrew Bible and Christianity. Paul the Apostle warned us of such possibilities:

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel…”

Galatians 1:6

Irenaeus of Lyon, writing against Marcion, was part of the scramble to create an authoritative canon to counter Marcion and to define the faith. His dubious criteria for choosing just four gospels out of the dozens floating around at his time gave us the canonical “Jesus” as we know him. As he said, there can only be four gospels because there are four winds or four directions of the compass, which seems a bit tenuous as a means of weeding out other gospels. None of the four chosen can make a strong case for apostolicity. All except for the expanded Luke are anonymous. All four gospels began to get traction in Catholic thought in the decades after Marcion, because they taught that Jesus was the Messiah of Judaism, and that’s the lynchpin that made Christianity the successor of Judaism. But the acceptance of apostolicity for all of them, as well as the epistles, is a matter of faith, supposedly. Faith in what? Apostolic Tradition.

The popularity of the Marcionite Christian Evangelicon or Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ was so widespread that the so-called ‘canonical’ gospels needed to include explicitly anti-Marcionite prologues at the beginnings of their texts.

These are short introductions to the gospels of Mark, Luke, and John. It is not known whether a prologue for Matthew’s Gospel ever existed. These prologues were named by biblical scholar, Donatien de Bruyne, who claimed that they were written to oppose the teaching of Marcion. However, specific statements regarding Marcion of Sinope are only found in the prologue to John’s Gospel.

The prologues were probably originally written in Greek, although the prologues to Mark and John are only found in Latin. The earliest manuscript containing all three prologues is from the eighth century. It appears that they were originally circulated separately. Scholars estimate their original writing was between the second and fourth centuries. They support the standard church traditions concerning the authorship of the gospels.

The Marcionite Church of Christ considers all ‘New Testament’ books not found in the Testamentum (Including the Antilegomenon) to be apocryphal. They lack any divine inspiration and have only limited historical, ethical, or theological significance.

No. The Testamentum remains unchanged and has always consisted of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the original Pauline Epistles of Galatians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Romans, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, Laodiceans (Ephesians), Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. One gospel and the original ten epistles. By contrast, the ‘modern bible’ contains four gospels and 73 books added over the course of hundreds of years.

Yes. The Hebrew Bible and the carnal deity portrayed within it, are antithetical to the words and teachings of Jesus Christ – the proof is self-evident. It represents views diametrically opposed to the God revealed to us through Jesus Christ and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

According to the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem in 48 C.E., God was revealed through Jesus Christ, not the Hebrew Bible – which depicts a tribal religion, deity, culture, and set of laws that are alien to Christianity and its canon.

Marcion confirmed this rejection of the Hebrew Bible, not considering it of any authority after the coming of Christ. Marcion believed that the Hebrew Bible was false and that the Hebrew Bible was without any divine inspiration or religious significance to Christians, largely consisting of fables, contradictions, and failed prophecies with only some historical or moral relevance.

Marcion was the first to reaffirm that the new covenant represented a separate and new religion. In this sense, he is the father of “New Testament” Christianity. His complete break with the Jewish epic and refusal to see Christianity as the inheritor and fulfillment of that continuing epic was a direct challenge to the Catholic Church.

Marcion did not teach that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah as prophesized in the Hebrew Bible. The prophecies concerning the Messiah in the Hebrew Bible refer very clearly to an earthly political figure, not a cosmic redeemer.

Marcion taught instead that Jesus was a spiritual entity that was sent by God to reveal the truth about existence.

Marcion held that the deity depicted in the Hebrew Bible was inconsistent, jealous, wrathful, genocidal, and wholly incompatible with the teachings of Christ.

“Think not that I am come to fulfil the law, or the prophets: I am not come to fulfil, but to destroy.”

Evangelicon 14:16

Yes. In addition to the Marcionite Christians, many other pre-Nicene Christian groups rejected Yahweh—the god of the Hebrew Bible—or the Hebrew Bible itself to varying degrees. These groups, included the Cerdonians, Sethians, Cainites, Ophites, Valentinians, Basilideans, Carpocratians, and Elchasaites. Each developed theological frameworks that distanced the God of Jesus Christ from the deity of Hebrew scripture. Some, like the Sethians and Cainites, went so far as to portray Yahweh as an ignorant or malevolent being—often called the Demiurge—while others, such as the Valentinians or Elchasaites, reinterpreted the Hebrew Bible allegorically or minimized its authority. These groups, like the Marcionites, reflect a significant early trend within Christianity that challenged the identification of God the Father with the deity of the Hebrew Bible, offering a radical spiritual alternative to emerging orthodoxy.

Marcionite Christians maintained that most of the Hebrew Bible was comprised of myths, failed prophecies, inaccurate history, and accounts of immorality. They argued that these texts had been subject to significant interpolation and alteration over the centuries, in contrast to what they considered the original, uncorrupted Gospel and letters of the Apostle Paul.

According to this view, while the Hebrew scriptures do record some historical events accurately, these accounts are seen as irrelevant to Christianity or the divine. Moreover, although some moral teachings are found within these texts, similar moral lessons appear in many ancient works from various cultures—without necessarily implying divine inspiration.

Nonetheless, both Marcion and Apelles held that the Hebrew scriptures—and even the mythologies of other cultures such as the Greeks and Romans—might contain some accurate accounts of events involving angels, devils, Satan, and even the Holy Spirit, given that these forces interacted with humanity before the advent of Jesus Christ. This perspective aligns with the Marcionite view of dispensationalism, which asserts that God the Father had not revealed Himself or engaged with humanity until the unexpected arrival of Jesus Christ in 29 C.E. However, it remains difficult to determine which portions of the Hebrew scriptures or ancient mythologies are historically accurate and which are not.

Jesus taught primarily with parables, allegories, and metaphors. Any references to the Hebrew Bible in the Testamentum are simply didactic. You can cite something and use it as a reference point without believing it is divinely inspired. Further, you can recognize there are some ethical and moral teachings from a book while not believing that the book is divinely inspired. In the cases where Jesus or the Apostle Paul references the Hebrew Bible, it is either to refute it or show where it holds some truth. The people whom Jesus preached to were predominantly Jewish or Samaritan, and the Apostle Paul preached to many Jews or proselytes to Judaism; thus, referencing the Hebrew Bible was a useful way to convey ideas and teachings in a way that the people would readily understand and relate to.

“And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.”

Evangelicon 3:12

Jesus allegorical references the story of Naaman the Syrian as an example of God’s will to save people who are considered by men to be less than pious and unworthy of salvation.

Naaman was the commander of the army of Aram-Damascus, who had attacked the Kingdom of Samaria. Not only was he a Gentile—a non-Jewish person—he was a hated enemy of the people. Despite this, Naaman is healed of leprosy. Rather than bringing miraculous healing to an Israelite, God supposedly bestowed it on a hostile pagan.

Jesus’ reason for making these comments is to counter the people’s implied demand: That he perform the miracles that he did elsewhere for them in Nazareth. At this time in history, the Jews of Galilee were ruled by the Gentiles of the Roman Empire. Any hint that God would look favorably on Gentiles was met with resistance or even violence. This is exactly what happens here in Nazareth:

“And they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way to Capernaum.” 

Evangelicon 2:13-15

This reference to the Hebrew Bible by Jesus did not imply that the story of Naaman the Syrian actually happened; it simply referred to a known story to impart moral teaching.

The Ten Commandments are a basic moral code that any civilized society would follow, regardless if they believe they inherited them from Moses on Mount Sinai and are divinely inspired.

All the simple and moral commandments of God are found in numerous places within the Testamentum, including the following verse:

“For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Romans 11:9

This verse also covers the ‘Golden Rule’ or ‘Great Commandment’, forming the core of the Christian faith.

Marcionite Christians do not need the Hebrew Bible’s 613 commandments, most of which are completely nonsensical and have nothing to do with living a moral and just life.

No. Marcionite Christians do not regard Yahweh as a demiurge, as that is a distinctly Gnostic concept. Rather, Yahweh is viewed as a false god, much like numerous other deities invented throughout history, such as Zeus or Thor.

Among Marcionite Christians, perspectives on Yahweh vary. Some believe that Yahweh and various pagan deities may actually be names for different devils. Others hold that Yahweh is simply another name for Satan himself.

The Marcionite Christians only recognized one gospel as legitimate; it was called the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ or the Evangelicon. This was the first gospel narrative ever written and was penned by Paul the Apostle. Paul is the author of the Evangelicon and made references to it in his Epistles. This gospel is never described by Marcionite Christians as the ‘Gospel of Marcion’, which is a description concocted by critics of Marcion much later in order to claim Marcion forged or fabricated the gospel. If anyone could be ascribed to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, it would be Paul the Apostle. In that sense, the term ‘Gospel of Paul’ is a far more accurate description but still not historical. The Evangelicon is similar to the Gospel of Luke but includes many verses in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John.  The Gospel of Luke’s account of the baptism of Jesus and the Prodigal Son was also absent. Like the Gospels of Mark and John, the Evangelicon lacked any nativity story.

Irenaeus, in Against Heresies, quoted what is typically referred to as the ‘Prologue of John’ and used it to critique the supposed theological views of Marcion and his followers.

Adolf von Harnack believed this reference by Irenaeus was simply indicating that Marcion might have known of the prologue.

However, one can turn that same argument around and argue that Irenaeus is attacking Marcionite Christians because the Evangelicon opened with the 1st chapter of the Gospel of John. Why else does someone cite texts against a “heretic” unless that supposed “heretic” was using those same texts?

No. A gospel harmony is an attempt to compile the canonical gospels into a single account. The earliest known harmony is the Diatessaron by Tatian in the 2nd century.

The Evangelicon is not a compilation or merging of the canonical gospels but rather the first gospel narrative from which all the canonical gospels ultimately derive.

The bulk of the Evangelicon closely resembles the Gospel of Luke. Still, many passages within the Evangelicon also resemble passages not found in the Gospel of Luke but rather are parallel passages from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John.

Conversely, unlike a Gospel Harmony, many passages from the canonical gospels are either missing, shortened, or altered in the Evangelicon. These passages were later interpolated and expanded upon to ultimately take their current form in the canonical gospels.

Many of the patristic sources, like Tertullian, claimed Marcion cut or adulterated verses not found in Luke. Others, like Ephrem, claimed Marcion included verses not found in Luke. Origen never even specifies that Marcion focused on Luke; instead, he claims that Marcion had edited all the gospels.

In this way, the term “Super Gospel” to describe the Evangelicon is more appropriate.

Ultimately, the canonical fourfold gospel was advanced as a reaction to the singular gospel of the Marcionite Christians.

The word ‘Apostolicon’ means ‘that which presents the Apostle’, and the word ‘apostle’ means ‘one who is sent.’ The Apostle Paul was sent by the Lord Jesus to preach the Gospel to all of creation.

The Apostle Paul was also called to “fill full” the word of God. This he did when he finished writing all his Epistles. You see, only in the Epistles of Paul do you find the claim that they are scripture, or the word of God.

Marcion was the first person to collect Paul’s writings to the various early churches, assembling and organizing the Pauline Epistles into a single body of work known as the Apostolicon around 120 C.E. The first record of the complete collection of the Epistles of Paul in Rome was from 138 C.E. brought there by Marcion. The Apostolicon would be canonized and joined with the Evangelicon around 128 C.E. to form the first Christian Bible, the Testamentum.

The Apostolicon originally consisted of the following: Galatians, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Romans, I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, Laodiceans (Ephesians), Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. Marcion’s original Apostolicon did not include the Pastoral Epistles or the Epistle to the Alexandrians (Hebrews).

According to a late Catholic tradition, Marcion was a disciple of the Apostle John. Marcion, after compiling and transcribing most of the Pauline Epistles, is said to have delivered the texts to John the Apostle. This tradition sought to explain how it could be possible that the Catholic Church had a need for a “heretic” to obtain the writings of the Apostle Paul.

Interestingly, historian Joseph Turmel notes that the fourth non-synoptic gospel, the Gospel of John, strongly reflects the doctrines of Marcion; further, none of the Epistles of John reference the Hebrew Bible.

The estimated dates for when the Apostle Paul penned his epistles are as follows:

• Galatians – 48 C.E.
• First Corinthians- 50 C.E.
• Second Corinthians – 51 C.E.
• Romans – 52 C.E.
• First Thessalonians – 53 C.E.
• Second Thessalonians – 54 C.E.
• Laodiceans – 55 C.E.
• Colossians – 56 C.E.
• Philippians – 57 C.E.
• Philemon – 57 C.E.
• Alexandrians – 63 C.E.
• First Timothy – 63 C.E.
• Second Timothy – 64 C.E.
• Titus – 66 C.E.

The Marcionite Church of Christ believes that if any lost epistles of Paul are one day discovered and proven to be genuine, they should be included in the Apostolicon.

These may include:

1. A first, or “zeroth”, epistle to Corinth, possibly referenced in I Corinthians 5:9.
2. A third epistle to Corinth, written between I and II Corinthians, also called the Severe Letter, is referenced in II Corinthians 2:4 and II Corinthians 7:8-9.
3. An earlier epistle to the Laodiceans referenced in Laodiceans 3:3-4.

In addition, if any epistles which are currently considered pseudographical are eventually determined to be genuine or earlier non-interloped manuscripts for these works are found, the Marcionite Church of Christ would consider them for inclusion into the Apostolicon.

The Prologues to the Pauline Epistles, which are not a part of the text, but short introductory sentences as one might find in modern-day Bible study guides, are so-called because it is generally believed that they originated in Marcionite Christian circles. They are to be found in some of the manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate, specifically the Codex Fuldensis. Modern scholarship generally admits Marcionite Christian origin and explains their appearance in the Latin Vulgate as the result of Marcion or Marcionite Christian teachers in Rome during the second century who translated the Greek epistles of Paul into Latin. Conversely, several early Latin codices contain Anti-Marcionite Prologues to the Gospels.

According to the Muratorian fragment, the Testamentum included an Epistle to the Alexandrians and an Epistle to the Laodiceans.

Ancient sources, such as Hippolytus of Rome, and some modern scholars, such as Fenton John Anthony Hort, equate the contents of this Marcionite Epistle to the Laodiceans with the Epistle to the Ephesians because the latter originally did not contain the words “in Ephesus”, and because it is the only non-Pastoral Pauline Epistle missing from the Testamentum, suggesting Laodiceans was simply Ephesians under another name.

Tertullian himself confirmed this when he stated that Marcion’s Apostolicon contained Ephesians under the name Laodiceans.

As for the Epistle to the Alexandrians, many scholars such as Moses Stuart have equated this with the Epistle to the Hebrews.

The Epistle to the Hebrews was the only Pauline Epistle missing from the Muratorian fragment, and specifically, it was the only non-personal letter left in the Pauline corpus.

Clement of Alexandria believed the Epistle to the Hebrews (Alexandrians) was written anonymously due to Paul the Apostle’s negative reputation among Jews and Jewish Christians.

Alexandria itself was the second largest Jewish city at the time after Jerusalem, and an early Jewish-Christian community flourished there. In addition, there was a large Jewish temple in Leontopolis, near Alexandria, which the epistle seems to refer to more accurately than the temple in Jerusalem.

It is possible that at some point, the letter became a ‘circular-letter’ where the original destination of the epistle was either forgotten or purposefully removed, and the letter was simply exchanged to multiple Jewish-Christian communities across the Eastern Mediterranean, adopting the name ‘Epistle to the Hebrews’ to be more inclusive of the new broader audience.

The opening greetings of the Epistle to the Alexandrians were reconstructed using the 16^th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans.

Several scholars, such as Richard Longenecker, have argued, largely on the basis of internal evidence, that the 16^th chapter of Romans represents the opening of a separate letter of Paul that was later appended to the Epistle to the Romans erroneously.

It is worth noting that in many manuscripts, the Epistle to the Hebrews immediately follows the Epistle to the Romans. This may explain how, through a scribal error, the original opening of the Epistle to the Hebrews got attached to the end of the preceding Epistle to the Romans.

We know from the conclusion of the Epistle to the Alexandrians (Hebrews) that it was written by Paul from Rome, and the 16^th chapter of Romans contains salutations and greetings from numerous Christians in Rome that Paul only would have known of had Paul already been in the city.

Of note, one of the Christians mentioned by the Apostle Paul in these greetings and salutations is the father of Marcion of Sinope, one of the 70 Disciples of Jesus Christ, Philologus of Sinope:

“Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.” (Alexandrians 1:15)

Many scholars support a 14- or 15-chapter version of the Epistle to the Romans, thus excluding the 16^th chapter. This aligns with the original Marcionite Christian version of the Epistle to the Romans.

The prologue of the Epistle to the Alexandrians was reconstructed using an unused Latin prologue to the Epistle to the Ephesians

The Antilegomenon includes all the written texts of the Apostle Paul, whose authenticity or value is disputed.

Specifically, this includes the Epistle to the Alexandrians (Hebrews) and the three Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus). All these epistles, if their Pauline authorship is to be accepted, were among the last letters penned by the Apostle Paul before his death.

These epistles were not included in the original compilation of Marcion’s Apostolicon.

The Marcionite Church of Christ views these texts as a second canon or ‘deuterocanonical.’

These texts are useful to read for theological and historical purposes but are not equal to the Evangelicon and Apostolicon. Unlike apocryphal books, these texts may occasionally be used for liturgical purposes.

If, in the future, these texts can be definitively confirmed to be authentic works of the Apostle Paul, and their original, non-interpolated versions are found or can be reconstructed, the Marcionite Church of Christ would consider them to be included in the Apostolicon proper.

The versions of these epistles included in the Antilegomenon are shortened from the mainstream versions. The Marcionite Church of Christ relied primarily on the citations, allusions, and attestations of Clement of Alexandria, an early Christian theologian who lived ca. 200 AD., to reconstruct these epistles to be closer to their original form. In addition to Clement of Alexandria, we relied on other citations from 2nd-century patristic sources such as Hermas, Tatian, Theophilus, and Athenagoras.

Like the other Pauline works, these epistles were expanded upon and edited by later Christians to comport with the emerging orthodoxy of the Church. At this point, many anti-Marcionite motifs were added to the Pastoral Epistles specifically.

Marcionite Christians, after the death of Marcion of Sinope, began to consider these texts as part of an expanded canon.

It seems that Marcion’s disciple Apelles continued to collect and transcribe Paul’s letters after Marcion’s death. Interestingly, Apelles lived in Alexandria, the city addressed by the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Alexandrians.

There were also Marcionite-esque Latin prologues found for the Pastoral Epistles, in particular for the Epistle to Titus:

“He warns and instructs Titus concerning the constitution of the presbytery and concerning spiritual conversation and heretics to be avoided who believe in the Jewish fables.”

This particular prologue sounds very much like Apelles, who was known to have referred to the Hebrew Bible as full of “fables” and “failed prophecies.” It is possible that Apelles was the author of the prologues of the Pastoral Epistles since he may have been the one who collected and transcribed them, similar to how Marcion authored the prologues to the epistles he collected and transcribed.

Tertullian said the fact that the Pastoral Epistles were not part of Marcion’s Apostolicon astonished him, perhaps because he could see some of the similarities between their content and that of the other Pauline letters, highlighted by the various prologues. Given the Marcionite character of the prologues to the first set of letters, recognized by Marcion, and some Marcionite features in the prologues to the Pastoral Letters, it seems that Marcionite collecting of Pauline epistles and prefacing them carried on after Marcion’s death.

Ephrem the Syrian refers to Marcionite Christians using 1 Timothy. Interestingly,  1 Timothy is the only epistle that directly quotes the Evangelicon.

Further, in some of his homilies against the Marcionite Christians, John Chrysostom referenced their use of 2 Timothy, which again shows a canon that continued to grow in the centuries following Marcion’s death.

So why did Marcion of Sinope not originally include these epistles in the Apostolicon? Did he reject them? Not necessarily; he may not have known of them.

The Pastoral Epistles were personal letters that may not have been as widely circulated as letters to the various churches, thus making them harder to compile. In addition to being written anonymously, the Epistle to the Alexandrians may have been originally composed in a Semitic language like Aramaic or Hebrew, languages Marcion may not have been familiar with. Clement of Alexandria suggested the Epistle to the Alexandrians (Hebrews) was only translated into Greek much later. Like the Apostle Paul, Marcion focused primarily on converting and evangelizing Gentiles and would have had less contact with the Jewish-Christian communities where the Epistle to the Alexandrians (Hebrews) circulated.

Some scholars have proposed that the Apostle Paul may have used an amanuensis, or secretary, in writing the disputed letters. The Epistle to the Alexandrians, references the epistle being dictated to Tertius the Deacon while the Apostle Paul was in prison.

All these reasons may explain why the text of the Pastorals and Alexandrians differs from the traditional Pauline corpus found in the Apostolicon.

It is clear that Marcion’s influence was sufficiently strong that the Catholic Church, after being unable to distance itself from Paul’s letters, decided to disassociate itself from Marcion at least as much as possible. As a result, the Catholic Church ventured to devise a new order for Paul’s epistles if they were going to continue to use them. They ultimately ordered their versions of epistles based on their size rather than on Marcion’s original chronological order.

At the time of Tertullian, around 200 C.E., the Catholic Church still hadn’t had a canon of books that they officially accepted as a bible.

This changed with the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E. The Council of Nicaea was comprised of over 300 bishops within the Roman Empire who were gathered, under threat of exile, to put an end to doctrinal squabbling and create a unified Christian religion under the auspices of Rome. Leaders of the large and growing Marcionite Church were either not invited to the synod or refused to attend. It was presided over by Emperor Constantine – a worshipper of the Roman sun god, Sol Invictus. Constantine being ignorant of Christian theology, his only interest in absolving the squabbling was to restore peace in his empire. Emperor Constantine ordered the Hebrew Bible to be added to the Christian Bible. the Evangelicon is also removed and replaced with gospels of unknown origin.

In 331 C.E., six years after the Council of Nicaea disbands, Constantine orders fifty of the edited bibles published and religious scholars confirm they contained the Hebrew Bible and several new gospels.

In 332 C.E. Emperor Constantine announces his Edict Against the Heretics and ordered all Marcionite Christian churches and meeting places be confiscated by force and handed over to the Catholic Church.

Finally, following the Council of Rome in 382 C.E., the Catholic Church formally codifies what they have decided to include in their new bible: 46 books from the Hebrew Bible, including books not even considered canonical in Judaism (Deuterocanonical), and 27 books for the New Testament for a total of 73 books with four different gospels.

A second council was held at the Synod of Hippo in 393 C.E. reaffirming the previous council’s list of canonical books.

The Marcionite Church had a canon of eleven books for about three centuries by this time containing only one gospel and ten epistles.

The Marcionite versions of the Epistles of Paul were significantly shorter than the versions found in conventional Bibles. However, several scholars and historians have re-examined this issue and concluded that the Marcionite versions of the Epistles of Paul were much closer to the original texts, and that the conventional version has had numerous passages added to it, and they introduced false teaching on a range of subjects, including misogyny; Marcion broke with the legalism which characterizes the Catholic Church, proclaiming that salvation comes through faith only; the concept of original sin, the idea that God predestines our actions, in a sense causing sin; Anti-Semitism; eternal damnation, and anti-pagan rhetoric.

In Roman times it was common practice for a scribe to write in the name of a revered teacher from the past. Today we might think of this as forgery, but back then, the act of attributing one’s ideas and ­­­­­writings to someone from the past was regarded as an act of humility. It was also seen as a legitimate way of ensuring readers would take the ideas more seriously; Roman culture was very conservative in the sense that ideas connected with the past were greatly respected.

This common practice, known as ‘Interpolation’, which was when a scribe added a passage of their own writing to another person’s text. When copying the text, they would stop at a suitable point, insert extra material, and then resume copying from where they left off. Many of the well-known works from ancient times contain these inserted passages, such as the writings of Josephus and Homer; yet few people consider the possibility that such inserted passages may also be present in the bible.

Interpolations are the result of literary accretion. Adding books to a canon of scripture is likewise literary accretion.

In general, the original version of any book undergoing literary accretion would be the shortest version.

The documents that make up the Marcionite canon have not physically survived to modern times; all known copies were destroyed by the religious authorities when the Catholics gained political power in the fourth century. Despite this destruction, the Marcionite scriptures can still be restored. Many ancient Christian writers quoted from it extensively, particularly Tertullian in his five-book work Adversus Marcionem, Epiphanius in his Panarion, and to a lesser extent, Adamantius in De recta in Deum fide. They described the differences between the Testamentum and the official version of the scripture and even wrote commentaries on them.

By using these quotations and descriptions, we can reconstruct the Marcionite text. We do not have quotations or descriptions of every verse. But, in most places, the Marcionite canon was identical to the corresponding text in the conventional canon, and the ancient writers who quoted from it focused their attention mainly on the controversial passages where there were significant differences between the two versions. This means that in places where the Marcionite text is not known, it was probably identical to the conventional Bible’s text, so text from the conventional Bible can be used to fill in the gaps.

Through the careful study of these ancient sources, many passages and books in the Bible can be identified as unauthentic. Once such texts have been identified and removed, the teachings that remain are not only more authentic from a historical perspective but also more logical, self-consistent, and positive.

The reconstruction presented herein took a maximalist approach to the reconstruction of the Evangelicon and the Apostolicon.

The absence of evidence from the writings of Tertullian & Epiphanius or other patristic figures is never evidence of absence. A verse being unattested is not alone considered evidence for its exclusion.

Further, we do not accept a merely hypothetical interpolation as being valid if it is not supported by a primary source, namely Tertullian, Epiphanius, Ephrem, Irenaeus, or Adamantius. We, however, do consider hypothetical interpolations to be valid if the verse in question has a different order between various ancient manuscripts.

For the reconstruction of the Evangelicon, verses attested to by primary sources that are not found in the Gospel of Luke are only included if they lack a parallel verse in the Gospel of Luke. The entire pericope of that verse is included in the reconstruction for textual continuity, and it is placed as close as possible to where the parallel passage would exist in the Evangelicon.

We always use the largest version of any pericope in our reconstruction in order to maintain textual continuity and flow.

Likewise, we added pericopes to the Evangelicon, which include verses attested as being cut or excluded from the Evangelicon but are not verses found in the Gospel of Luke unless the verse in question lacks a parallel. The verse that was cut or excluded is removed from the pericope, but the remainder of the pericope is included in the reconstruction.

When a variant verse not from the Gospel of Luke is attested to, we only include the variant verse and exclude the rest of the associated pericope.

We also specifically included the so-called Pericope Adulterae from the Gospel of John in our reconstruction of the Evangelicon due to the fact that several ancient manuscripts include these verses in the Gospel of Luke. Some scholars have suggested that the pericope is not written in the same style as the rest of the Gospel of John, and have suggested it is written more in the style of the Gospel of Luke.

Lastly, any verses attested to have been part of the Gospel of Apelles are included in our reconstruction of the Evangelicon, as it is our belief that Apelles, the disciple of Marcion, continued to use the Testamentum.

Our identification of gospel parallels and pericopes is based on the work of Kurt Aland (Synopsis Quattuor Evangeliorum, 1985) and Lorin L. Cranford (A Study Manual of the New Testament, 1981).

On the other hand, the reconstruction of the Antilegomenon took a largely minimalist approach since these works are already disputed and challenged as authentic writings of the Apostle Paul. We only included verses that were directly cited, alluded to, or attested by Clement of Alexandria or from other early patristic sources, up to the First Council of Nicaea of 325 C.E., in the form of biblical catenae. The rare exceptions to this were any verses alluded to in the Marcionite Prologues of the epistles or verses absolutely necessary for textual continuity.

The English language text of the Testamentum is taken from the King James Version, chosen simply because it is a formal equivalency translation; it is one of the most popular English translations, and because of the similarities to the words used in the other translations of the reconstructions of Marcion.

The version of Evangelicon is by James Hamlyn Hill (1891); it is based on the 1823 reconstruction by August Hahn. The version presented herein is further revised based on the works and commentary of Daniel Jon Mahar, David Inglis, and Stephan Huller to also reflect the reconstructions done by Gustav Volkmar (Das Evangelium Marcions: Text Und Kritik, 1852), Theodor Zahn (Geschichte des n.t. Kanons, vol.II., 1888), Charles B. Waite (History of the Christian Religion to the Year A. D. 200, 1881), and Andre Wautier (Comment Naquit Le Christianisme, 1980).

The reconstructions of the Pauline Epistles in the Apostolicon are based overall on the work of David Inglis utilizing material from Adolf von Harnack (History of Dogma, 1894), Paul-Louis Couchoud (La Première Edition de St Paul, 1928), and Jason BeDuhn (The First New Testament: Marcion’s Scriptural Canon, 2013).

The reconstructions of the Pauline Epistles in the Antilegomenon are based primarily on the work of Maegan C.M. Gilliland (The Text of the Pauline Epistles and Hebrews in Clement of Alexandria, 2016) and secondarily on the work of Philip Schaff (Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1885).

Our reconstruction of the Psalmicon is based on the work of James H. Charlesworth (The Earliest Christian Hymnbook: The Odes of Solomon, 2009), and the Divine Liturgy and other liturgical rites found in the Litourgicon is based on the work and translation of James Donaldson (Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1886).

The translations used for the Homileticon and the Synaxarion are based on the work of J. B. Lightfoot (Apostolic Fathers, 1891).

The reconstruction of the epistles of Marcion as found within the Synaxarion, and the location and form of parallel verses from the Gospel of John that are included in the Evangelicon, are based on the work of Roger Parvus (A New Look at the Letters of Ignatius of Antioch and Other Apellean Writings, 2008).

The Marcionite Church of Christ supports any English translations that are based on formal equivalency. We used the King James Version for the reconstruction of the Testamentum.

A literal translation tries to remain as close to the original text as possible, without adding the translators’ ideas and thoughts into the translation. Thus, the argument goes, the more literal the translation is, the less danger there is of corrupting the original message. This is, therefore, much more of a word-for-word view of translation.

The Psalmicon is a Marcionite Christian book of forty psalms that have been reconstructed from historical records. The Psalmicon is the earliest Christian hymnbook dating from around 134 C.E.

The Muratorian Fragment mentions a rejected book of psalms for Marcion, and these Marcionite Psalms are mentioned by Maruthas of Martyropolis:

“…instead of the Psalms they [the Marcionites] have made themselves hymns for their services.”

It has been theorized the apocryphal ‘Odes to Solomon’ were originally these Marcionite psalms that were composed in Greek by Marcion and his disciples, but later due to their popularity, they were expanded upon and interpolated in a similar manner to how the Evangelicon was later transformed into the Gospel of Luke. The psalms may have also been used contemporaneously by gnostic sects such as the Valentinians.

Many scholars believe these psalms were composed by a disciple of the Apostle John, which Marcion of Sinope was.

Further, Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Epiphanius all mentioned Marcion taught that the crucifixion and death of Christ was followed by a “Descent into Hell” or “Harrowing of Hell.”  This narrative is not found within the Evangelicon but it is referenced directly and indirectly in several psalms of the Psalmicon.

It seems that when the Catholic Church Father Lactantius was translating the psalms into Latin, he inserted an additional psalm about the Virgin Birth, and later when the psalms were translated into Syriac, they were Judaized in their tone further to bring them closer to the prevailing orthodoxy.  At some point, these Marcionite psalms were then renamed the Odes of Solomon to tie them to the Hebrew Bible.

These psalms were originally referred to as ‘psalmoi idiotikoi‘, which means psalms not pertaining to the canon of scripture, or at least not the direct product of divine inspiration. The psalms may have originated as a collection of baptismal hymns.

Interestingly, Tertullian described a Marcionite church tradition of giving a mixture of milk and honey to the newly baptized. One of the psalms of the Psalmicon makes explicit reference to giving this very mixture to a newly baptized Christian.

At the Council of Laodicea in 360 C.E., it was decreed that no psalms composed by uninspired men should be used in the Church service. These compositions were thus excluded.

The Marcionite Church recognizes these psalms are not divinely inspired but sees them as useful for liturgical purposes.

Our reconstruction of these psalms is based on the work of James H. Charlesworth.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Colossians 3:16

The Litourgicon is a Marcionite Christian liturgical guide that has been reconstructed from historical records, eyewitness accounts, theologians, and the scriptures of Paul the Apostle. It is designed to be used by the laity in conjunction with the Testamentum and will teach you how to conduct Divine Liturgy during times of persecution and oppression, just as the first Christians did.

In addition to Divine Liturgy, there are directions and instructions on how to perform the Holy Sacraments based on the ancient Christian rites as found in the Apostolic Constitutions.

Marutha of Martyropolis claimed that the Marcionite Christians had a book called the ‘Saka,’ which in Syriac means ‘Sum,’ ‘Summary,’ or the ‘End.’ The Greek name for this would be ‘Synaxarion,’ which is generally used for a book or collection of texts describing the lives of saints and martyrs.

Several scholars and theologians, including Hermann Detering, Joseph Turmel, Alfred Loisy, and Roger Parvus, have postulated that Ignatius of Antioch’s seven epistles were originally composed by a Marcionite.

Building on this theory, the Marcionite Church of Christ recognizes that these epistles were initially written by Marcion of Sinope himself, shortly before his martyrdom in Rome in 154 C.E. These epistles were then compiled into a single codex known as the ‘Saka’ in Syriac or ‘Synaxarion’ in Greek. They were eventually added to the Marcionite canon after Marcion’s death.

It is known that after Marcion of Sinope was excommunicated from the Roman Church, he returned to the East to lead his many church congregations in Anatolia and Syria. All of these epistles address churches in Marcion’s native Anatolia.

The writer of the epistles describes himself as the Bishop of Syria, based in Antioch. It is possible that Marcion established himself as the bishop of Antioch after failing to become the bishop of Rome. Antioch was an early Christian center, specifically a center of Pauline Christianity, the city where the Apostle Paul began his missionary work. Antioch is also the first city where followers of Jesus began to be known as ‘Christians’, and these epistles represent the first written use of the word ‘Christianity.’

Interestingly, in the lists of bishops of Antioch, there is a gap or vacancy between 151 C.E. and 154 C.E., the exact time that Marcion could have established himself as the bishop of that city.

Along with Rome, Antioch had a line of bishops whose apostolic succession could be traced back to Paul the Apostle.

Also of note, many scholars have viewed Syria as the heartland of Marcionite Christianity. This is evidenced by many patristic commentators talking about the number of Marcionite Christians in Syria and the archaeological discovery of a Marcionite church in Syria.

Another point connecting these epistles to Marcionite Christians is that the epistles make numerous references to and quotations of the Odes of Solomon, which were originally the Marcionite psalms as contained within the Psalmicon.

Irenaeus claims that Marcion encountered his rival Polycarp in Rome around 154 C.E. During this encounter, Polycarp exclaimed to Marcion, “I recognize thee as the firstborn of Satan.”

According to Irenaeus, Polycarp of Smyrna visited Rome to discuss the date of the celebration of Easter with Anicetus. This places Polycarp in Rome around 155 C.E.

The dating of this altercation makes sense if Marcion was returning to Rome from the East, to be martyred.

Scholars consider the writer of the epistles being transported to Rome as unusual, since those persecuted as Christians would be expected to be punished locally.

However, it would make sense for Marcion of Sinope to be sent to Rome for punishment since the scene of his supposed ‘crime’ was there. This ‘crime’ was the chaos and disunity in the Christian community there, which he was blamed for after being excommunicated from the Roman Church.

Marcion’s authorship also explains why in the Epistle to the Romans found in the Synaxarion there is no mention of a bishop of Rome. This is because there was no Marcionite bishop in the city.

The epistles primarily focused on ecclesiological concerns, which makes sense as Marcion was focused on the continuity and leadership of his church after his impending martyrdom.

The monarchical episcopate described in the epistles sounds similar to the succession of Marcionite bishops as described by Adamantius.

The existence of multiple recensions of these epistles is strong evidence that they were heavily interpolated at some point.

According to William Dool Killen, Callixtus interpolated, readdressed, and expanded these epistles in 220 C.E. to garner support for a monarchical episcopate.

Calixtus reattributed the epistles from Marcion to an obscure martyr and early Christian, Ignatius of Antioch.

In doing so, he changed the nickname that was usually applied to Marcion, ‘Nauclerus,’ which means ship captain, this referred both to his profession and the fact that he was partly traveling by sea to Rome, with ‘Theophorus’ meaning ‘God-bearing.’

Like Marcion of Sinope, Ignatius of Antioch was claimed to be both a disciple of the Apostle John and a follower of the Apostle Paul.

Reattributing the epistles to Ignatius also moved the date of the writing far earlier than most scholars think possible, 108 C.E.

The earliest source for this specific date is the 4th-century church historian Eusebius of Caesarea. Richard Pervo argues that Eusebius may have had an ideological interest in dating church leaders and texts as early as possible to assert a continuous succession between the original Apostles of Jesus and the leaders of the church in his day.

Scholar Paul Foster placed the composition of these epistles in the earlier part of Antoninus Pius’ reign, corresponding to the early 150s C.E.

Redating these epistles to 154 C.E., the year scholar R. Joseph Hoffmann claims Marcion likely died, makes far more sense, given that the writer seems to have quoted Ptolemy the Gnostic, who became active only in the 150s C.E. and was an opponent of Marcionite Christians.

Callixtus specifically readdressed one of the epistles, which was originally sent to a Marcionite bishop, to be sent instead to Marcion’s chief rival, Polycarp of Smyrna.

This epistle was addressed initially to the Marcionite bishop of Smyrna, Metrodorus, who ironically was martyred in 156 C.E. alongside Polycarp, the Catholic bishop of Smyrna.

These epistles quote extensively from the Apostle Paul, mimic his epistolary style of writing, and express strong anti-Judaism sentiments throughout.

The epistles contain the first known argument in favor of Christianity’s replacement of the Jewish Sabbath with the Christian Lord’s Day on Sunday. This tradition was supposedly advanced originally by Marcionite Christians.

The Marcionite Church of Christ does not consider the epistles of Marcion found in the Synaxarion to be scripture, but rather Marcionite patristic texts that expound useful theological, liturgical, ecclesiastical, and historical teachings.

The Marcionite Church of Christ includes a 10-chapter Homily to Diognetus in the Homileticon, which will serve as a collection of Marcionite homilies as they are rediscovered. This text is not considered scripture but rather a church tradition, and serves as an insightful Marcionite Christian apologetic and liturgical text.

The so-called Epistle to Diognetus is generally considered a jewel of Christian apologetics.

Particularly the fifth chapter, which sketches the Christians’ manner of living, stirs the heart. Yet much about this text is uncertain. That is true of both the exact date of its composition and the authorship.

Many scholars date the epistle to roughly 130 C.E. which would make it the first extant example of a Christian apologetic text.

It has been argued by many scholars, including Christian Charles Josias von Bunsen and Ernesto Buonaiuti, that the so called, Epistle to Diognetus, was originally a work of either Marcion of Sinope, or one of his disciples, such as Apelles.

The text contains multiple Pauline and Marcionite theological themes and never references the Hebrew Bible.

This Pauline or Marcionite character of the text is only reinforced when the final two chapters of the document are dropped. Most scholars agree that the final two chapters are a later interpolation of the text. They represent not only a different style of writing but also represent completely different theological tendencies. They were most likely added a later date to bring the text closer to the prevailing Christian orthodoxy of the time.

Tertullian claimed that when Marcion was younger, before his excommunication by the Roman Church, he penned a letter which was universally lauded and approved, even by Catholics.

The Marcionite Church of Christ believes that this letter was the Epistle to Diognetus.

But going further, this is no epistle at all, but rather a homily that Marcion of Sinope delivered in one of his churches and was later transcribed and disseminated across the Christian world.

The text contains none of the typical elements of an epistle, but clearly represents a sermon or homily delivered to a church.

Diognetus has been identified by scholars through ancient inscriptions as a local aristocrat in Smyrna. These inscriptions were dated to around the time of Polycarp, who was a contemporary of Marcion.

Smyrna, a city in Anatolia, is an area where Marcion not only evangelized but formed many of his own churches. We even know of a Marcionite presbyter and martyr from Smyrna by name, Metrodorus.

Diognetus, a pagan, most likely visited a local church to question Marcion of Sinope on his Christian beliefs. Marcion’s response to Diognetus’ inquiries forms the basis of the homily and the later transcribed text.

Tertullian mistakenly referred to the transcribed homily as a letter.

At some point, the text was made anonymous, removing all mentions of Marcion of Sinope; it was circulated but eventually lost and only rediscovered by accident centuries later.

The translation used for the Homily to Diognetus is based on the work of J. B. Lightfoot (Apostolic Fathers, 1891).

Tertullian mentioned that the sacraments Marcionite Christians performed were similar to those of his own Catholic Church.

The Marcionite Christians seemed to have generally worshiped very similarly to Catholics. This is demonstrated by Cyril of Jerusalem, who had warned Christians against accidentally entering a Marcionite church when traveling.

Marcionite Christians recognize eleven traditional sacraments, including Holy Baptism, Holy Chrismation, Holy Communion, Holy Reconciliation, Holy Matrimony, Holy Unction, Holy Ordination, Holy Pedilavium, Holy Osculum, Holy Veiling, and the Holy Lovefeast.

Holy Baptism, Holy Chrismation, and one’s first Holy Communion are considered the three Sacraments of Initiation, and after completion, one is considered fully initiated into the Marcionite Church of Christ.

After completing their Sacraments of Initiation, all Marcionite Christians are to wear a Chi Rho necklace at all times as an indication of their commitment to the Christian faith.

These sacraments are based on scripture and instituted by either Jesus or the Apostles.

Holy Baptism was considered the first and foundational sacrament for the early Church. References to it can be found throughout the Testamentum, including the following:

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Romans 5:3-4

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 12:13

“Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

Colossians 2:12

For Holy Chrismation the Apostle Paul writes that the baptized Laodiceans were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, in reference to Holy Chrismation.

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”

Laodiceans 1:13

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Laodiceans 4:30

The Holy Communion was clearly established at the Last Supper, as recounted in the following verses:

“And they rehearsed the things that happened in the way, and how he became known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

Evangelicon 23:34

“And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 11:24-27

As Marcionite Christians, we understand that Jesus gave the authority to forgive sin to the Apostles. We believe this authority has been passed down through Presbyters to the present day with the sacrament of Holy Reconciliation.

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” 

Romans 8:13

Healing the sick was a vital part of Jesus’ ministry, and it was carried on by his disciples after his Resurrection. This is continued to this day with the sacrament of Holy Unction.

“And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.”

Evangelicon 5:22

Marcionite Christians have always believed that Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Ordination before his ascension:

“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, That thus it was neccessary for the Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations.”

Evangelicon 23:43-45

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:20

In the Testamentum, some of the Scriptures show Holy Matrimony to be a sign of Christ and the Church, as well as a special bond between man and woman:

“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

Laodiceans 5:31-32

Holy Pedilavium was instituted as a sacrament by Jesus when he washed his disciples’ feet during the Last Supper and when he forgave the sins of a woman who washed his feet:

“He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”

Evangelicon 20:10-11

“And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house: thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.  My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.”

Evangelicon 5:45-49

The sacrament of the Holy Osculum (Holy Kiss) was instituted by the Apostle Paul and is referenced numerous times in the Apostolicon. One example is the following:

 “All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.”

1 Corinthians 16:20

The sacrament of Holy Veiling, which only applies to women, was also instituted as a sacrament by the Apostle Paul when he wrote:

“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.”

1 Corinthians 11:3-15

Finally, the sacrament of the Holy Lovefest, which follows Holy Communion, was referenced by the Apostle Paul:

“Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.”

1 Corinthians 11:33-34

Marcionite Christians reject infant baptism as infants cannot repent or believe. Infants are born without sin and incapable of committing sin. They have no need for baptism until they can begin to learn to discern right from wrong and are thus accountable to God for their own actions. Baptism in Scripture always has the prerequisite of repentance and faith, which are impossible for an infant. Further, there are no explicit instances of infant baptism in the scripture. Marcionite Christians believe in ‘Credobaptism‘, otherwise known as ‘Believer’s Baptism‘, and that it should be practiced via full triple or trine immersion. This is done in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the three days and three nights Jesus was in the tomb.

Both Epiphanius and Enzik of Kolb confirm this practice, both stating that Marcionite Christians practiced triple or trine immersion baptisms and allowed Deaconesses to baptize other women.

The Marcionite Church of Christ recognizes any trinitarian credobaptism done via full triple immersion; otherwise, the Marcionite Church of Christ requires you to be rebaptized.

In keeping with the traditions of the earliest Christians, Marcionite Christians are to fast for the entire day prior to their baptism.

In addition, according to Tertullian, Marcionite Christians anointed those being baptized with Holy Oil during their baptism, and following their baptism, they were given a mixture of milk and honey to drink.

The Marcionite Christian tradition of using honey at baptism, which Tertullian references, may have served as a reminder to believers of the superiority of the Christian dispensation over the Jewish since under the latter, there was a law against the use of honey at sacrifices on account of its liability to corrupt.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Evangelicon 24:74

No. Tertullian erroneously claimed that Marcionite Christians denied baptism to anyone who was married, forcing spouses to divorce in order to be baptized. In reality, Marcionite Christians simply followed the principles of the Pauline privilege.

The Pauline privilege, which is drawn from the Apostle Paul’s instructions in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, is the allowance of the dissolution of a marriage between two persons not baptized at the time of their marriage.

Marcionite Christians forced candidates for baptism to dissolve their non-Christian marriage before baptism and then allowed them to be remarried as Christians after their baptism.

Marcionite Christians only allow for the dissolution of a non-Christian marriage. Any other form of divorce between two baptized Christians is strictly prohibited and is considered adultery.

Tertullian further falsely claimed that Marcionite Christians had to take vows of celibacy in order to be baptized. The restriction of sexual intercourse prior to baptism is also related to the Pauline privilege; since the non-Christian marriage between two persons was to be dissolved prior to their baptism, any sexual intercourse that occurred prior to baptism would then be outside of marriage and, therefore, adulterous.

Marcionite Christians had no restrictions on marriage and did not mandate celibacy, these were simply misinformed attacks by Catholic Church Fathers writing centuries after Marcion of Sinope had passed.

In addition, Marcion of Sinope said Christians should form their marital union only with the approval of their bishop:

“It becometh men and women too, when they marry, to unite themselves with the consent of the bishop, that the marriage may be after the Lord and not after concupiscence.”

Metrodorus 5:7

It is possible many Marcionite bishops, including Marcion himself, denied certain marriage requests that they felt were motivated purely by lust. Thus, from this practice, the false accusation that Marcionite Christians forbid marriage was strengthened.

No. This is yet another false and misleading claim from the early Catholic Church Fathers leveled against Marcionite Christians; this false charge was purposefully designed to dissuade potential converts to Marcion’s church.

There is no commandment in the Testamentum that Jesus Christ’s disciples and followers have to live in celibacy.

Paul the Apostle emphasized the importance of overcoming the desires of the flesh and saw the state of celibacy as superior to that of marriage but never prohibited marriage.

The Apostle Paul made parallels between the relations between spouses and God’s relationship with the church:

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”

Laodiceans 5:25-28

Like the Apostle Paul, Marcion took vows of celibacy at some point in his life, but he never mandated universal celibacy for his followers; he simply preached strict adherence to Eucharistic discipline and occasional periods of abstinence for married couples.

Eucharistic discipline is an extension of the Marcionite Christian church tradition of a Saturday Eucharist fast, where Marcionite Christians are to abstain from food and drink after their third Lord’s Prayer on the ninth hour (3:00 P.M.) on Saturday until they receive Holy Communion on Sunday.

The Eucharistic discipline goes beyond fasting and also mandates abstention from marital relations during this same time period before receiving Holy Communion.

This is not a mandate for universal celibacy, but rather, temporary periods of abstinence are encouraged among married couples in accordance with the teaching of the Apostle Paul.

This Eucharistic discipline for married couples comes from the Apostle Paul, who wrote that spouses should not deprive each other, except for a short time for devotion to prayer:

“Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.”

1 Corinthians 7:2-5

For this reason, spouses are also required to abstain from marital relations on Spy Wednesday, in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ by Judas, and on Good Friday in mourning for the crucifixion of Jesus.

Both Eucharistic discipline and these temporary abstentions of marital relations are traditions that were ultimately adopted by Catholics and numerous other Christian denominations and are still practiced even today.

‘Chrismation‘ is the Marcionite Christian term for ‘Confirmation‘, and it occurs shortly following baptism, which is not considered complete or fully efficacious until chrismation is received.

The Marcionite Church of Christ believes that anyone who had a trinitarian credobaptism done via a complete triple immersion but did not have a confirmation or chrismation following will need to seal their baptism by undergoing a chrismation.

Tertullian claims that after baptism, Marcionite Christians were given a mixture of milk and honey to drink. This was most likely part of a Holy Chrismation ritual.

The Marcionite church tradition of using a mixture of milk and honey after baptism may have served as a reminder to believers of the superiority of the Christian dispensation over the Jewish since, under the latter, there was a law against the use of honey at sacrifices on account of its liability to corrupt.

“Distill thy dews upon us and open thy rich fountains that pour forth to us milk and honey.”

Psalmicon 3:10

Marcionite Christians practice Holy Communion under both kinds, as all the Catholic Church Fathers claimed that Marcionites used bread and wine in their Holy Communion. Holy Communion of only the Eucharistic bread is seen as imperfect. Further, Marcionite Christians kneel to receive communion directly upon the tongue.

After receiving Holy Communion, Marcionite Christians are to pray the Thanksgiving Prayer:

“Now we have received the precious body and the precious blood of Christ, let us give thanks to Him who has thought us worthy to partake of these His holy mysteries; and let us beseech Him that it may not be to us for condemnation, but for salvation, to the advantage of soul and body, to the preservation of piety, to the remission of sins, and to the life of the world to come. Let us arise, and by the grace of Christ let us dedicate ourselves to God, to the only unbegotten God, and to His Christ. Amen. “

Yes. Epiphanius claimed that Marcionite Christians used water in their Eucharist, while Tertullian, Ephrem the Syrian, and Enzik of Kolb mentioned Marcionite Christians also using wine in the Eucharist.

The practice of adding a few drops of water to the wine in the Eucharistic chalice was traditional in nearly all ancient Christian rites.

Yes. The Marcionite Christian Divine Liturgy adheres to the practice of open communion to all Christians who have had a trinitarian credobaptism done via full triple immersion followed by Confirmation or Chrismation.

Tertullian, Epiphanius, and Jerome all claim that Marcionite Christians allowed both non-believers and catechumens to enter their churches and to attend and observe their liturgies and sacraments.

Marcionite Christians believe in the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of the Blood of Christ. This change is brought about in the Eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Christ and by the action of the Holy Spirit. However, the outward characteristics of bread and wine, that is, the ‘Eucharistic species,’ remain unaltered.

“They abstain from eucharist and prayer, because they allow not that the eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which flesh suffered for our sins, and which the Father of His goodness raised up.”

Symrnaeans 6:8

Yes. Marcionite Christians believe that the confession and absolution components of Holy Reconciliation must occur in the sight of other believers. The use of a confessional is prohibited as all confessions must be made publicly by the confessant.

Marcionite Christians must pray the Lord’s Prayer thrice daily: first on the third hour of the day (9:00 A.M.), which commemorates Jesus’ trial and judgment before Pontius Pilate; then on the sixth hour (Noon), which commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion; and finally on the ninth hour of the day (3:00 P.M.), which commemorates the hour in which Jesus died on the cross.

This is done to honor not only the passion of Jesus Christ but also the Holy Trinity and the three days and three nights that Jesus was in the tomb.

Marcionite Christians reject the idea of the daily seven fixed prayer times since this is a practice that has its roots in Judaism and the Hebrew Bible.

Marcionite Christians are to pray before each meal, which imparts a blessing that sanctifies the meal.

Before praying and before attending Divine Liturgy, all Marcionite Christians must wash their hands (manulavium), faces (capitilavium), and feet (pedilavium), and all prayers should be uttered while facing the west, kneeling, bowing their head, and folding their hands.

Ephrem the Syrian claimed that Marcionite Christians prayed in a westward direction, otherwise known as ‘Ad occidentem’.

While there is no direct scriptural basis for this in the Testamentum, it does not contradict scripture. It appears that this form of directional prayer developed as a church tradition within Marcionite Chrisitan communities.

This church tradition was most likely formed as a means to distinguish Marcionite Christians from their Judeo-Christian neighbors, who inherited the tradition of praying toward the East from Judaism. The eastward direction of prayer also serves as an homage to the Hebrew Bible’s book of Genesis because the Garden of Eden was supposedly planted in the east.

For these reasons, Marcionite Christians rejected eastward or ‘Ad orientem’ prayer and instead adopted their own unique westward or ‘Ad occidentem’ prayer tradition.

Marcionite Christians have traditionally used the word ‘Amen‘ to conclude prayers like most other Christian denominations.

Paul the Apostle concluded all his epistles using ‘Amen‘, and it is also found in several doxologies within those epistles.

Amen means “verily,” “truly,” “it is true,” and “let it be so.” Many of the earliest Christians were Aramaic or Hebrew speakers; thus, this word got carried over into Greek. It doesn’t have any inherent Abrahamic or Judaic connotation with its meaning despite its Hebraic and Semitic etymological origins.

On the flip side, the use of ‘Hallelujah‘ is strictly forbidden in Marcionite Christian prayers and liturgy.

Hallelujah means “Praise Yahweh” in Hebrew, which has an overtly religious meaning and undertone.

Marcionite Christians do not worship Yahweh, and as such, the use of this term is blasphemous.

The Menologion, is the formal name of the Marcionite Church of Christ’s liturgical calendar.

The Menologion is comprised of several ‘Holy Days’, which are divided into ‘Holy Week’ and ‘Holy Feasts’. Holy Feasts are further subdivided into ‘Major Feasts’ and ‘Minor Feasts’.

Holy Days are days on which the Marcionite Christian faithful are expected to attend Mass and rest from work and recreation.

All the Holy Days of the Marcionite Church of Christ are supposed to fall on dates corresponding to actual historical events. The date of the Holy Day cannot be arbitrary; there must be an underlying significance either from scripture or history.

Marcionite Christians were the first Christian group to stop celebrating Easter on the same day as the Jewish Passover and instead always celebrate it on a Sunday, at the end of the week, to commemorate when Jesus was resurrected.

The Marcionite Christian Holy Week is considered a period of moveable feasts and fasts, compared to the fixed dates of the Holy Feasts of the Menologion.

Marcionite Christians celebrate Good Friday on the first Friday of April.

Jesus was crucified on Friday, April 3^rd, 33 C.E. This corresponds with a ‘Blood Mood’ lunar eclipse that started at 2:01 P.M., about an hour before Jesus’ death on the cross and concluded at 7:34 P.M., lasting exactly 333 minutes.

“And it was about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the sanctuary was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he expired.”

Evangelicon 22:59-61

Utilizing this date, Marcionite Christians can easily determine the precise dates of the entire Holy Week every year using the first Friday of April as their basis. This includes Holy Sunday (Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem), Holy Monday (Parable of the Minas), Holy Tuesday (Jesus cleansed the temple and responded to the questioning of his authority), Spy Wednesday (Betrayal of Jesus by Judas), Holy Thursday (The Last Supper), Good Friday (The Crucifixion of Jesus), Black Saturday (Jesus Laid in the Sepulcher), Easter Sunday (The Resurrection), and finally Ascension Monday (Jesus’ Ascension).

Marcionite Christians are to fast both on Spy Wednesday, in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ by Judas, and on Holy Friday in mourning for the crucifixion of Jesus.

Marcionite Christians have a church tradition of eating broiled fish and honeycomb on Easter Sunday to commemorate the meal Jesus ate after rising from the dead:

“And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.”

Evangelicon 23:41-42

Marcionite Christians celebrate Christmas on November 24^th, the exact day that Jesus descended into Capernaum from Heaven in 29 C.E. This corresponds with a total solar eclipse that happened on Thursday, November 24^th, 29 C.E. at 11:05 A.M and lasted precisely one minute and 59 seconds.

Yes. Marcionite Christians celebrate Hallowmas on January 10th, the exact day that Asclepius, the Marcionite bishop of Eleutheropolis, who, during the Diocletianic Persecution, was burned alive in Caesarea in 310 C.E.

This is the only exact date of a Marcionite Christian’s martyrdom that we know for sure.

Marcionite Hallowmas is celebrated in honor of all the martyrs of the Marcionite Church, whether they are known or unknown.

Marcionite Christians celebrate the Feast of Marcion. A celebration of the  life and contributions of Marcion of Sinope on the Holy Day of July 15, the Ides of July, which reflect the date found in the old Marcionite Christian phrase, “115 years and six and a half months between Christ and Marcion.” Tertullian also quotes this phrase. It is the period beginning when Jesus descended to earth in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar in 29 C.E., and the ex-communication of Marcion of Sinope by the Roman Church in July of 144 C.E. Marcion of Sinope’s steadfast courage derived from the Holy Spirit against powerful forces allowed him to prevail and show others our Christian God was only revealed to us through Jesus Christ.

Marcion of Sinope’s Homily to Diognetus should be read as the homily during Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Marcion.

In addition, Marcionite Christians celebrate the Feast of the Cross on September 14.

According to Christian tradition, the True Cross was discovered on September 14, 326 C.E. by Helena of Constantinople, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, during a pilgrimage she made to Jerusalem. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built at the discovery site by order of Helena and Constantine. The church was dedicated nine years later, with a portion of the cross. One-third remained in Jerusalem, one-third was brought to Rome and deposited in the Sessorian Basilica Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, and one-third was taken to Constantinople to make the city impregnable.

At the dawn of Christianity, very few structures were set aside for the sole purpose of conducting Divine Liturgy and purpose-built churches were few and far between. Instead, larger private homes were used, and the Divine Liturgy was presided over by a ‘Presbyter‘ – usually the owner of the home. A typical Divine Liturgy would consist of at least three people worshiping together. Divine Liturgy can be conducted with just your immediate family in your own home.

As dark times descend on Christians and mainstream churches abandon their flock to the whims of tyrannical governments or to the physical destruction of houses of worship, ordinary people will need to host and preside over services.

The Marcionite Christian Divine Liturgy is based on the ancient liturgy of James the Just, one of the Seventy Disciples of Jesus Christ. This is the oldest known Christian liturgy in existence.

Interpolations have been removed from the liturgy and it has been adjusted to comport with known Marcionite Christian church traditions such as westward direction of prayer, and the practice of open communion.

Interestingly, this liturgy already featured the Marcionite church tradition of a mixed chalice.

This is also the same liturgy used by Cyril of Jerusalem, who claimed that Marcionite Christians worshipped so similarly to Catholics that Cyril of Jerusalem needed to explicitly warn Catholics to be careful from accidentally entering Marcionite Churches and worshipping there.

Divine Liturgy should be conducted in the vernacular, and women must wear head coverings while men must have their heads uncovered. Before the Divine Liturgy, everyone must wash their hands (manulavium), faces (capitilavium), and feet (pedilavium). All prayers are conducted facing a westward direction. Whenever the Lord Jesus Christ is mentioned during Divine Liturgy, the congregants must bow their heads.

Marcionite Christians meet for Divine Liturgy on Sunday, the Lord’s Day. This day serves as a weekly memorial to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Marcionite Christians never adhered to the practice of dividing Divine Liturgy into morning and evening services, as this custom is based on the pattern of worship in the Jewish Temple and the Hebrew Bible’s instructions for morning and evening sacrifices.

The end of Divine Liturgy is followed by a communal and sacramental meal called the Holy Lovefeast. Each person brings some food that is equally divided among all. This is a fitting end to a day that began with a simple prayer in the morning, culminating in the celebration of God and Christ. This meal symbolizes fellowship, sharing, unity, and brotherhood. The meal is also to be delivered to the infirm, sick, or anyone unable to attend the Divine Liturgy.

Divine Liturgy and prayers should be conducted in whatever language you are capable of understanding, this is typically the vernacular. However, the Marcionite Church of Christ has no restrictions on the use of liturgical languages such as Latin or Koine Greek so long as the congregants can fully understand the words being uttered.

No. Marcionite Christians consider the veneration of the saints to amount to the heresy of idolatry, and the related practice of canonization amounts to the heresy of deification. Marcionite Christian theology denies that any real distinction between veneration and worship can be made, and claims that the practice of veneration distracts the Christian soul from its true object, the worship of God.

To Marcionite Christians, the word ‘saint’ is used more generally to refer to anyone who is a Christian. This is similar in usage to the Apostle Paul’s numerous references in the Apostolicon.

In this sense, anyone who is within the Body of Christ (a professing Christian) is a saint because of their relationship with Jesus Christ. Marcionite Christians consider intercessory prayers to the saints to be idolatry, since they perceive it to be an application of divine worship that should be given only to God himself is being given to other believers, dead or alive.

While Marcionite Christians view all Christians as saints and do not venerate or worship them, it is acceptable to honor and admire Biblical Saints, who are saints mentioned directly or indirectly in the Testamentum. This includes the Apostles and Disciples of Jesus Christ and other named Christians from the Evangelicon or Apostolicon. It is acceptable for Marcionite Churches and other institutions to be named after these saints.

Marcionite Christianity considers all the Apostles and Disciples of Jesus Christ to be Saints, along with any Christian mentioned in the Testamentum. Some of these Biblical Saints are listed below:

1. Saint Achaicus of Corinth
2. Saint Agabus the Prophet
3. Saint Ampliatus of Odessos
4. Saint Ananias of Damascus
5. Saint Andrew the Apostle
6. Saint Andronicus of Pannonia
7. Saint Apelles of Heraklion
8. Saint Apollos of Caesarea
9. Saint Aquila of Rome
10. Saint Archippus of Laodicea
11. Saint Aristarchus of Thessalonica
12. Saint Aristobulus of Brittania
13. Saint Artemas of Lystra
14. Saint Asyncritus of Hyrcania
15. Saint Barnabas of Milan
16. Saint Barsabbas of Eleutheropolis
17. Saint Bartholomew the Apostle
18. Saint Caesar of Dyrrachium
19. Saint Carpus of Beroea
20. Saint Cephas of Iconium
21. Saint Clement of Sardice
22. Saint Cleopas of Jerusalem
23. Saint Crescens of Galatia
24. Saint Demas of Thessalonica
25. Saint Dismas the Penitent Thief
26. Saint Epaphroditus of Andriaca
27. Saint Epenetus of Carthage
28. Saint Erastus of Corinth
29. Saint Evodius of Antioch
30. Saint Fortunatus of Corinth
31. Saint Gaius of Ephesus
32. Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia
33. Saint Hermas of Dalmatia
34. Saint Hermas of Philippopolis
35. Saint Herodion of Patras
36. Saint James the Elder Apostle
37. Saint James the Just
38. Saint James the Younger Apostle
39. Saint Jason of Thessalonica
40. Saint Joanna the Wife of Chuza
41. Saint John Mark of Bibloupolis
42. Saint John the Apostle
43. Saint John the Baptist
44. Saint Joseph of Arimathea
45. Saint Judas the Apostle
46. Saint Junia of Rome
47. Saint Lazarus the Beggar
48. Saint Linus of Rome
49. Saint Longinus the Centurion
50. Saint Lucius of Cyrene
51. Saint Luke the Physician
52. Saint Mark of Apollonia
53. Saint Mark the Evangelist
54. Saint Martha of Bethany
55. Saint Mary Magdalene
56. Saint Mary of Bethany
57. Saint Mary the Mother of James
58. Saint Matthew the Apostle
59. Saint Matthias of Jerusalem
60. Saint Narcissus of Athens
61. Saint Nicanor the Deacon
62. Saint Nicodemus of Jerusalem
63. Saint Nicolas the Deacon
64. Saint Olympas the Martyr
65. Saint Onesimus of Byzantium
66. Saint Onesiphorus of Colophon
67. Saint Parmenas of Soli
68. Saint Parrobus of Pottole
69. Saint Patrobulus of Puteoli
70. Saint Paul the Apostle
71. Saint Peter the Apostle
72. Saint Philemon of Gaza
73. Saint Philip the Evangelist
74. Saint Phillip the Apostle
75. Saint Philologus of Sinope
76. Saint Phlegon of Marathon
77. Saint Phoebe the Deacon
78. Saint Phygellus of Ephesus
79. Saint Pontius Pilate
80. Saint Priscilla of Rome
81. Saint Prochorus of Nicomedia
82. Saint Pudens the Senator
83. Saint Quartus of Berytus
84. Saint Rufus of Thebes
85. Saint Silas of Corinth
86. Saint Silvanus of Thessalonica
87. Saint Simon of Cyrene
88. Saint Simon the Apostle
89. Saint Sosipater of Iconium
90. Saint Sosthenes of Colophonia
91. Saint Stachys of Byzantium
92. Saint Stephanas of Corinth
93. Saint Stephen the Protomartyr
94. Saint Susanna the Myrrhbearer
95. Saint Tertius of Iconium
96. Saint Thaddeus of Edessa
97. Saint Thomas the Apostle
98. Saint Timon the Deacon
99. Saint Timothy of Ephesus
100. Saint Titus of Crete
101. Saint Trophimus the Martyr
102. Saint Tychicus of Colophonia
103. Saint Urban of Macedonia
104. Saint Zacchaeus of Jericho
105. Saint Zebedee of Capernaum
106. Saint Zenas the Lawyer

According to Tertullian, Marcionite Christians were the first Christian group to make use of the sign of the cross.

Marcionite Christians make the sign of the cross when entering or passing a church, during the introduction and conclusion of Divine Liturgy, before and after receiving Holy Communion, before and after Holy Reconciliation, before and after Holy Chrismation, and before and after praying the Lord’s Prayer.

The motion is performed by joining the first three fingers, to symbolize the Holy Trinity, putting the two other fingers in the palm, then touching one’s forehead, below the chest, left side, then right side, and finishing with an open hand on the chest again while bowing the head. The Trinitarian formula accompanies the sign of the cross: at the forehead “In the name of the Father…” at the stomach or heart “…and of the Son…“; across the shoulders “…and of the Holy Spirit…“; and finally: “…Amen“.’

Theologically, the act of saying grace is derived from the Testamentum, in which Jesus prayed before meals:

“And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.”

Evangelicon 23:29

Marcionite Christians are to say grace before every meal. The prayer should be recited as follows:

“Thou art blessed, O Lord, who nourishest me from my youth, who givest food to all flesh. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness, that having always what is sufficient for us, we may abound to every good work, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom glory, honour, and power be to Thee for ever. Amen.”

This is based on the most ancient grace prayer found in the Constitutions of the Holy Apostles. 

The only dietary restrictions Marcionite Christians must follow are from the Apostolic Decree which prohibits the eating of food sacrificed to idols, eating blood, eating meat containing blood, and eating meat of animals that were strangled.

“Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” 

1 Timothy 4:2-5

No. There is no basis for mandating a vegetarian, pescatarian, or vegan diet in scripture.

The Apostle Paul explicitly states that only people of weak faith are vegetarians:

“Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.”

Romans 12:1-2

Although the Apostle Paul also warns both carnivores and vegetarians to stop passing judgment on one another when it comes to food and diets:

“Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”

Romans 12:13

For the Apostle Paul, vegetarianism was a way of not offending vegetarian hosts, but was not an explicit command of God:

“But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat…”

Romans 12:15

In these verses, the Apostle Paul was not only referring to vegetarianism but also to the practice of not eating meat from the meat market because of fear that it may have been sacrificed to a pagan idol. This is more explicitly stated when he writes:

“What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. But if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof: Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience?”

1 Corinthians 10:19-29

Marcionite Christians are to fast both on Spy Wednesday, in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ by Judas, and on Good Friday in mourning of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Marcionite Christians must fast from their third Lord’s Prayer at the ninth hour (3:00 P.M.) on Saturday until they receive Holy Communion on Sunday and for the entire day before their baptism.

Epiphanius claims that the Marcionite church tradition of a Saturday Eucharistic Fast was born out of a spirit of opposition to Judaism, which made the Sabbath a day of rejoicing and feasting. However, this same tradition also developed in the Catholic Church in the West.

Marcionite Christians do not universally ascribe to asceticism. This was a false claim made by critics of Marcion and Marcionite Christians more broadly.

Asceticism as a universal obligation is not something supported by scripture.

It is true, however, that Marcion of Sinope himself was an ascetic. This is evident by his taking of vows of celibacy at some point in his life. Still, that lifestyle was never a mandate or requirement for the broader Marcionite Church.

Marcion’s disciple, Apelles, was not himself an ascetic, having married Philumena. This shows that even among Marcion’s closest disciples, taking on an ascetic lifestyle was always viewed as a voluntary choice, not a mandatory obligation, for Marcionite Christians.

No. Marriage and having a family is both virtuous and honorable. We do not prohibit clergy from marrying and having children; in fact, it is required to be ordained as a Presbyter or Bishop.

“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?“

1 Timothy 3:2-5

Three. The Marcionite Church of Christ has the traditional three Holy Orders of the episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate.

The Marcionite Church of Christ adheres to the principles of an episcopal polity, more specifically, a monoepiscopal or monarchichal epispopate, for our church governance.

Adamantius specifically refers to a succession of Marcionite Christian bishops, beginning with Marcion of Sinope.

Marcion of Sinope was the original Archbishop of his church, a position passed down to his chosen successor and disciple, Apelles of Alexandria.

The early Catholic Church Fathers, such as Tertullian, played off this title of Archbishop by mockingly referring to Marcion as the first ‘Arch-heretic.’

The Archbishop is a title borne exclusively by the leader and spiritual head of the Marcionite Church of Christ. The Archbishop has the power to ordain new bishops.

This shows a tradition in which the apostles appointed bishops as their successors and then directed that these bishops should, in turn, appoint their own successors to replace them upon their death or resignation, and jurisdictions shall only have one singular bishop governing them.

The Marcionite Church of Christ adheres to the ancient Christian tradition of only allowing bishops the authority to ordain new bishops. This tradition specifically requires three bishops to ordain a new bishop who previously served as a presbyter. These bishops, in turn, may ordain presbyters who previously served as deacons, and these presbyters, in turn, may ordain deacons and deaconesses.

Yes. Fermentum is an ancient Christian practice whereby bishops affirmed their communion with one another or their local subordinate presbyters.

A particle of the Eucharistic bread was carried by a presbyter or deacon of one bishop’s jurisdiction to the bishop of another jurisdiction. The receiving bishop would then consume the species at his next celebration of the Holy Communion as a sign of the communion between the churches. The term fermentum was probably a reference to the Eucharist as the leaven of the Christian life, and as the instrument by which Christians spread throughout the world were united in the one Body of Christ as a leaven to the world.

Yes. We allow women to be ordained as deaconesses. They may assist in performing all the sacraments and can baptize other women. This is in keeping with the traditions and practices of the early Christians. Deaconesses must always cover their heads when in church, during Divine Liturgy, and when praying.